On the Fly
by SunKing
Summary: Front of the house, back of the house - Edward wants Bella everywhere. What would you give to be a fly on the wall in this restaurant? Edited to gain T rating.
1. Buried

**Buried  
**-Way behind. Overwhelmed.-

Bella Swan hated being the new girl—hate, hate, hated it. While living with Renee, she'd been the new girl seven times. Seven times, she'd stood at the front of the class and insisted her name was not Isabella. Seven times, she'd told her uncaring classmates that she had a cat named Sprinkles, or Lucky, or Bono. And seven times, she'd said goodbye to the classmates who had never really seen her. Moving in with Charlie during her junior year had precipitated number eight. New girl experience number eight found her classmates _very _interested in her desire to be called Bella and her current cat named Zep. By far, the Forks High School new girl experience had been her worst. The worst, that was, until her first day at Hospitaliano.

Hospitaliano was one of those chain restaurants that tried to project a high-class image. Servers zoomed between tables carrying over-priced wine, while the really good stuff was locked in a cage in the lobby. Guests—never _customers—_would _ooh_ and _ahh_ over the dusty vintages and daydream about actually ordering one of them someday, before sitting down and asking for the $3.75 rosé.

Carlisle Cullen had personally interviewed her and seemed very impressed with her intelligence and desire to earn her bachelor's degree in Psychology. Without a second look at her application, he directed her to purchase a white, button-down shirt, black pants, and non-slip shoes to wear the next day for orientation. She left the noisy restaurant, thrilled that she could start earning some money instead of taking from Charlie, but terrified at the prospect of being the new girl once more.

"Hey, Zep," Bella sighed as she tossed her keys onto the scuffed up hall table.

The fluffy grey wound figure eights around Bella's ankles as she struggled to get to the kitchen. She made it to the doorway before accidentally stepping on the cat's tail. At once, Zep screeched bloody murder and Bella pitched sideways into the doorframe.

"Damn it, Z! Are you trying to kill me?" She rubbed at the tender spot and thanked the powers that be her hair covered it. Starting a new job with a knot on her head would just make a _fantastic _impression.

She opened a can of cat food and dumped it into the cat's bowl unceremoniously. Zep scarfed half of it before she could even pull the empty tin away.

"Murderer," Bella accused.

The cat ignored her.

"Oh, God," Bella muttered. "I'm going to suck at this job. I can't even get my cat to pay attention to me! How am I supposed to be engaging and make these people like me? I'm going to get fired. Carlisle is going to fire me. And I cannot handle a man as gorgeous as Carlisle firing me. I'll have to move, and change my name, and dye my hair... Oh, God."

Zep looked up from his bowl and gave a tiny "Mew," as if to say, "Right on, sister." At least, Bella was pretty sure that's what he meant. She also figured he could mean, "Unemployment line starts to the left."

She spent a long night talking to herself and to Zep, trying to convince herself that showing up for the first day of work was the _right thing to do. _Truly, though, Forks High had pretty much destroyed the novelty of first days, and she couldn't imagine any way at all that the next day might be considered fun.

oOo

As she climbed down from the cab of her ancient truck, Bella smoothed her brand new shirt and made sure that it was tucked in securely.

"Ugh! I hate first days. There can only be one first day," she muttered under her breath.

The packet of orientation paperwork that Carlisle had handed her the previous day slipped off of the seat and hit the rain-slicked pavement with a smack. Immediately, the wind grabbed the top sheets and whisked them under the truck. Grumbling and cursing, Bella dropped to her hands and knees to peel the soggy papers from the tires.

Once she had the packet reassembled, she mourned the sad state of the pages. A name was written on the top corner—the person she was to meet before orientation. The ink had smeared and spread into the fibers of the paper, making the words nearly impossible to read. She traced her fingers over the lines, praying it would become legible as it dried.

She was so engrossed that she didn't see the Mustang until it was right upon her. The driver honked and screamed outrageous curses. Through the blood roaring in her ears, Bella was sure she heard some made-up words.

"Sorry!" she called, waving her papers.

The massive, bald man was not appeased at all. Instead, he rolled down his window to spew even more insults at her.

"Really," Bella muttered, leaving him behind. "He'd have done more damage to me than I would him."

On the bright side, she'd managed to read enough of the name to remember whom she was to meet. Rosalie. The name sounded like a sweet older lady who hosted at the restaurant to stave off boredom.

A quick glance at her reflection in the glass door proved she looked like she'd just survived a hurricane. Bella hurriedly swept her hair into place and straightened her clothes again, but she saw a tall figure waiting on the other side of the glass.

_Of course,_ Bella groaned internally, yanking open the door. Rosalie was undoubtedly the most beautiful girl in the continental United States. Probably all of Mexico, most of Canada, and even parts of Brazil, too. And that was saying a hell of a lot, since the world's biggest supermodels all seemed to be from Brazil.

"What the hell are you wearing?" Rosalie sneered, raking her eyes over Bella.

"Um..." Bella stuttered, wishing a hole would open up and swallow her. "White shirt, black pants?"

"Technically, yes," Rosalie drawled. "I can't let you go to orientation looking like that. Carlisle would kick my ass. Having Carlisle Cullen anywhere near my ass might sound like it would be pleasurable, but it really would not in this situation."

"I'm just wearing what he told me..." Bella tried again.

"Oh, God. Please don't be a dumbass, please don't be a dumbass," Rosalie muttered under her breath. Her crystal blue eyes were rolling around, as if she were searching for an answer that she might pluck from thin air. She grabbed Bella's elbow and steered her toward the staff break room. "Here. Roll silverware. All of it. You can clock the hours but, for God's sake, don't let anyone see you. If they do see you, tell them you snuck in. I had nothing to do with this, right? Nothing."

"Um, right?"

Rosalie didn't even stick around long enough to hear Bella's response. With a sigh, Bella sat down to a mountain of forks and knives and wondered if there was a special way to roll them. She fingered the black linens tentatively before scooting the chair back and darting from the room. A basket of freshly rolled silverware was visible on the other side of the kitchen. All she needed was one set. The theme for _Mission: Impossible_ ran through her head and she giggled.

She tossed her head back and adopted a careless stride. Within moments, she had her prize in hand and was almost back to the break room. When she was just steps away from the anonymity the room could offer, she heard something that turned her whole body into a big gooey mess.

"Emmett, you dick! The order said 86 potatoes, add pasta! If this costs me my tip, I'll kick your ass!"

The words were not pretty, but the voice was like a thousand angels singing. _He _was pretty. All six feet and two inches of him. Every shiny, red-gold strand of hair on his head.

He spun away from the window and caught her looking. The heat that flooded her cheeks made snapped her back to reality in time to see his grin. Bella looked down at the roll of silverware that she was clutching for dear life and suddenly remembered her abandoned task. She glanced back up to offer a final wave to the beautiful guy, but he had disappeared. The swinging kitchen door was the only clue to his whereabouts, and she was left with only the memory of his lopsided smirk.

Slowly, the smaller hills of forks, knives, and table linens became a larger mountain of rolled silverware. Bella couldn't imagine that there was a single unrolled piece of silver in the entire restaurant, and she had the burning arms and lower back to prove it.

"Hey, hey!" a voice interrupted, and she found herself praying internally that it was the hot guy she'd seen earlier.

Hot guy, he was, but not _the one. _Instead, Carlisle Cullen stood in the doorway to the break room, looking as resplendent as any restaurant manager could hope to. His charcoal gray slacks hugged his lean legs jealously, and the crisp white shirt with faint purple and grey stripes was open just enough at the neck for Bella to see the beginning of a very nicely formed chest.

As with _the one, _she found she couldn't form any words. _'Brilliant, Bella. Convince every last person working here that you're a half-wit on your very first day.' _

"I thought you bailed on me!" he said, as he swept into the room.

"I-I'm sorry... The girl told me to come in here and… There was something wrong with my shirt and—" Bella literally smacked herself in the forehead to stop stuttering.

"What's wrong with your shirt?" Carlisle asked with a puzzled frown.

Bella shrugged and tried to avoid his open perusal of her failed uniform. His eyes lit up with some realization, and he chuckled.

"My fault entirely. I'm sure it was Rosalie that called you on it, too. The shirts have to have a button-down collar and no designs. So you rolled all the silver in the joint? Excellent. Wanna watch a sexual harassment video now? I mean, it's gotta happen sometime. I'll bring you some toasted ravioli to munch on." He didn't wait for a reply before darting from the room again.

Bella was startled once more as two more people flew into the room, carrying water glasses and chattering. Jessica, according to her nametag, had curly, light brown hair in a messy bun on top of her head. Mike was classic, boy-next-door handsome and looked supremely bored with whatever Jessica was saying. Bella, on the other hand, listened raptly as she gathered the rolls of silverware and pretended to ignore them.

"Lauren is driving me up the wall! She stole my last two tables out from under me, and Carlisle is off looking for some stupid new girl that didn't show up, so he can't do anything about it. The last guy was really cute, too, and I bet he would have left me a really big tip."

"Mmhmm," Mike responded, catching sight of Bella for the first time. He flashed a too-white grin at her, and she ducked her head in response.

"And she always wears all that stupid jewelry, and no one ever says anything to her, except Rosalie. And Rosalie's such a bitch, she'd find something wrong with _anyone, _so no one actually _listens _to her."

"Mmhmm," was Mike's answer. He studied Bella while Bella tried her hardest to escape any questions, and Jessica was still oblivious to the fact there was anyone else in the ten-by-ten room with her.

"If she doesn't invite me to her party this weekend, that's it. I won't help her anymore! 'Jess, can you get me three waters for table 406? Jess, can you get their order for me while I go have a ciggie?' Ugh! She's such a user!"

"Mmhmm," again, was Mike's distracted offering.

At that point, Bella actually cracked a smile. Mike pulled out the chair next to her and sat down, and Jessica noticed for the first time that there was someone else in the room.

"Oh! Are you the new girl? I'm Jessica, and this is Mike. They haven't given you your tie yet, you lucky bitch." She reached down and presented a truly hideous necktie that was part of the required uniform. "Hope you didn't manage to piss Carlisle off on your first day. He's been looking for you."

"He found her," Carlisle said from the door. He held a plate of food in one hand, a pink beverage in the other, had four ties laid out across his arm, and a video tape tucked under his elbow. "Jess, Mike, if you don't mind, grab all this silverware that Bella has rolled for you and put it in the baskets. She's rolled enough for the two of you, so you won't have to do any before you leave."

Jessica's eyes lit up, and suddenly the new girl was her favorite person ever. "Oh, my God! Thank you soooo much. Tyler, the prep cook, asked me out after work and now I'll have time to go change and freshen up. You're the best, Becky!"

She grabbed a small handful of silverware and took off without a backward glance, leaving Mike to manage the rather large mountain she'd left behind.

"It's Bella," Mike called after her. He sighed and shrugged when he realized Jessica either didn't hear or didn't care. Everyone in the room knew that it was the latter. "Nice to meet you, Bella. We'll talk soon, yeah?"

Bella nodded as she helped him pile his arms full, and he gave her one last toothy, blinding smile. With a sigh of relief, she plopped down in her chair again and looked up at Carlisle expectantly. He placed the plate of food and the drink in front of her.

"I figured if you have to suffer through this crap, you might as well have some good food to eat. We'll get the videos out the way tonight, and tomorrow, you can get the rest of the rundown from Rosalie. You're a smart girl, so I don't expect you to take very long in training. We'll have you teaching others in no time, right?"

"Sure," Bella said with a shrug.

Thus began three of the most mind-numblingly boring corporate videos Bella could have fathomed. Even the actors, and she thought that word very lightly, looked supremely uninterested. She wished that she had a bottle of whiskey and a shot glass so that she could make a drinking game out of every fake smile. She'd have been plastered within the first five minutes, she figured.

Carlisle didn't hang around to suffer the videos with her, so after the first one was through, she had to climb into a chair and replace it with video number two. Perky music poured through the speakers as a montage of ghastly pictures flashed across the screen. Knife wounds, broken bones, chemical burns, actual burns... Suddenly, Bella didn't feel so well. For a klutz such as herself, she realized that there were many ways in which she might die right in the kitchen of Hospitaliano.

She clutched at her throat as a ridiculously happy blonde girl demonstrated how the lemon slicer could remove a thumb. A handsome boy described the proper procedure for escaping a locked walk-in freezer. A middle-aged black woman explained the directions for each and every article in the first aid kit, as well as where to find it. Bella stopped the video and stalked out of the break room.

She was so immersed in her search for the first-aid kit that she failed to notice the beautiful guy from earlier watched her every move. She carefully traversed the wet floor of the dish area until she found the large black case. Not content just to locate it, she opened it and inspected all the contents. As she imagined every possible injury she might incur, someone else studied her every move with a wry grin on his face.

He almost laughed aloud as she closed the case with a decisive nod and gingerly walked across the wet tiles toward the break room. Whether she was clumsy or just very thorough, he didn't know. He wanted to, though. He wanted to know everything about her.

Back in her chair, Bella started the video again only to find that she had reached the end anyway. She had been cautioned by a serious redhead never to climb on the furniture, but she saw no other way to reach the wall-mounted television. With a sigh, she dragged a chair back over and placed her foot squarely in the center. If she had to do it, she'd make sure to do it as safely as possible.

Before she could finish the climb, however, a sudden presence startled her. Strong arms caught and steadied her gently before reaching above her to remove the cassette. Smoothly, her beautiful boy replaced it with the final tape.

"Th-thank you," she stuttered, still reeling from the memory of his chest against her back.

He nodded tersely and pressed play. Bella watched his retreating form as chipper music filled the room again. Her eyes landed on his tight ass just as the narrator announced "Sexual Harassment in the Workplace!" and she felt mortified heat race up her neck.

There was no way he could know she checked him out, but she agonized over it through the remainder of the presentation.

_Of course he didn't feel his heart skip a beat when he touched me. He's just being nice to the new girl. And he sure as hell doesn't still feel the... what? Oh, God. It turned me on! Just touching him that short time turned me on! _

Her thoughts embarrassed her further as she fanned herself with a sheaf of payroll papers that Carlisle had left for her to fill out.

_I am in serious trouble. _

Carlisle returned at some point to gather up the papers she had half-heartedly completed. There were instructions and a hearty "Welcome to the team!" that she heard through her daze. She was vaguely aware of her schedule for the next day, partially present when instructed on how to clock out, and wholly unaware of how she managed to get home. And yet, when she came to her senses again, she was sitting on her couch and wringing her new, repugnant necktie between her hands.

Zep crawled into her lap, and she scratched his ears absently. "Pretty boy is going to kill me, Zep. Not like Isaac Madden did, either. Stone cold dead."

oOo

Yep, you may have seen this before. I'm slowly editing it from a mild M to a T rating. I hope to post a chapter each day, but I make no promises. You may already know, but in case you don't, I'm happy to send out the M rated PDF. Instructions (and a list of other M stories I'm happy to share) are on my profile page. If you choose to read the T version instead, thank you. I'd edit and post anyway, because this is where it belongs, but it will be nice to know people are enjoying it.


	2. Top Shelf

**Top Shelf**

-Refers to the finest liquor available. Usually kept on the top shelf.-

Dread filled Bella as she approached the front doors of the restaurant. She didn't even know if _he _would be there, but the thought of seeing him again caused her heart to race and palms to sweat. She smoothed her hands down her new button-down shirt with the button-down collar and no designs, just like Rosalie had insisted, and took a deep breath.

The ice queen was waiting by the hostess stand to inspect every employee that walked through the door. Her right eyebrow lifted fractionally when Bella stumbled over the threshold.

"Better," Rosalie sniffed, and then she reached out to straighten Bella's necktie. "Carlisle must like you for some reason. Not many people get this tie. He usually gives the rookies the ugliest one."

"He gave me four," Bella mumbled, and Rosalie snatched her hand away. "I thought this was the prettiest. Or, the least ugly."

"We all have to buy our ties after the first one. What makes you so special?"

Panicked, Bella looked around her for anything that might save her. Her eyes landed on a tall form taking in the exchange from the doorway of the bar area.

_Not good, not good! _Bella thought, as she recognized the pretty guy from the night before.

She was suddenly so flustered that she couldn't remember exactly why Rosalie was pissed off. Instead, she gave a half-hearted shrug and hung her head.

The guy in the doorway cleared his throat, causing Bella's attention to fly to him. He barely shook his head and cut his gaze to Rosalie, who was glaring at Bella with even more wrath. Somehow, Bella realized he was telling her not to show weakness. She straightened her spine and lifted her chin, staring Rosalie down.

"I'm just myself," she stated plainly.

Rosalie scoffed but didn't press the issue. Instead, she pulled out a map of the restaurant and motioned for Bella to follow her. As Rosalie coached her on table numbers and other various hosting responsibilities, Bella surreptitiously searched for him.

He'd helped her twice without speaking. When she really thought about it, she'd not really said anything either. A stuttered thank you, perhaps. He, however, had yet to make a single sound. She knew his voice, of course, because he had yelled at the cook. Apparently, talking wasn't an issue; talking to _her _was.

_He_ _probably thinks I'm a complete idiot, _she realized with a start.

"Think you can handle it?" Rosalie said, interrupting Bella's thoughts.

"Pretty sure," Bella replied with a shrug. It wasn't exactly rocket science.

"Smirk if you want," Rosalie cautioned. "It's not quite the same when we're on a forty-five minute wait. And we're almost always on a forty-five minute wait."

"I know there are things I'll have to learn on the fly," Bella said earnestly. "But I know the table numbers, I know the procedures. I'm not taking this lightly, Rosalie. I don't want to be bad at it."

"Just make sure you're paying attention and not staring at Edward," Rosalie snarked.

Bella's head snapped up. "Edward? I haven't met an Edward."

"Tall, reddish-blondish hair, green eyes? All the girls stare at him, and you will, too."

_I already have, too, _Bella amended internally. _Edward... Jesus, that's just as pretty as he is._

"Rosalie! Esme is looking for you."

Bella was thrilled with the interruption from Jessica, because it distracted Rosalie from seeing the blush that had crept up her face. One look and Rosalie would know that she had certainly been staring at Edward.

"Hey, Becky!" Jessica said with a true smile. "No one scared you away yet?"

"Um... No." Bella looked after Rosalie, causing Jessica to giggle. "Not scared yet, Jennifer."

Jessica opened her mouth to protest the misnomer, but was interrupted by an indelicate snort. The girls turned to see the back of a tall guy with red-gold hair before he turned a corner. Bella sighed. It seemed Edward had been witness to her one attempt at snarkiness in ten years.

"Wow..." Jessica said with glazed eyes. She snapped back to attention almost immediately. "Right. So you're gonna be seating people already? That's awesome. Carlisle must really like you. Especially since you fucked up with your clothes yesterday. Keep them coming in my section. We tip the hostesses at the end of the night, so if you put the cute guys and rich older people at my tables, I'll take care of you later. Sound good? "

"Tip the hostesses?" Bella hadn't been told anything about tips.

"Yeah, but keep it down!" Jessica hissed. "We're not supposed to, but we do to get the best customers. You'll find out which ones take good care of you and which ones don't. I'm just telling you up front that I will. Mike does, but he takes care of everyone. He's probably the nicest guy here. And we tip the busboys, too, so our tables get cleaned faster, but we're allowed to do that."

"I see..." Bella murmured.

"It's just a couple bucks, but it adds up, you know? James and Victoria are sucky tippers, and they like to steal people's tables. They watch like vultures, and if the server doesn't greet the table within, like, two minutes, they go take over. Greedy bitches."

"How do they know if the server went by the table?" Bella wanted to know.

"We drop coasters when we say hi. If coasters are on the table, then they can't steal them."

"Coasters. Got it." Her head was spinning with new knowledge, but she really wanted to remember it all. Being well liked by the staff would make having a job so much easier.

"When do you go on the clock?" Jessica wondered.

"Fifteen more minutes," Bella said, looking at her watch.

"You're really early!" Jessica squealed. "I was supposed to clock in five minutes ago. I better run. See you, Becky!"

"Bye, Jennifer," Bella mumbled.

Another snort alerted her to Edward's presence, but since he hadn't bothered to say a word, she didn't even turn to look at him. Instead, she made her way to the computer to clock in for the evening, leaving an amused Edward by the host stand.

"Are you Bella?" a lovely girl with caramel curls asked.

Bella, astonished by her beauty, was momentarily speechless.

"Ah... yes. I'm Bella. Hi." With a sigh over her complete inability to project an image of intelligence, she stuck her hand out.

The older girl smiled and accepted the offered handshake.

"I'm Esme, the evening manager. I've heard a lot about you."

"I... ah. Hmmm." Bella finally laughed at her complete foolishness. "Oh, for the love of Godiva!"

"It's okay, honey. I'm sure you've met a lot of people over the past few days and you're a little overwhelmed. I just wanted to say hello and you're very welcome here. I hope you like it and want to stick around a while."

"I do," Bella assured her. "I like everyone I've met so far."

Mentally, she crossed Rosalie off that list, but didn't find any need to announce that fact. Esme, however, laughed out loud as if she knew exactly what Bella had been thinking.

"There are some truly wonderful people here, Bella. I have a feeling you'll find them easily and fit in well. I look forward to working with you." With that, Esme walked her through the clock-in procedure and sent her back to Rosalie.

The rest of the night passed in a blur. She realized very quickly that Rosalie had been right when she warned things were more difficult when there was a wait at the door. Customers got impatient and expected Bella to magically produce tables and chairs. She spent the majority of the night apologizing for being new and mumbling under her breath when she messed up.

On several occasions, she thought she felt eyes on her. She never caught anyone in the act, but she thought she saw Edward disappearing around the corner a few times. She hadn't had the opportunity to seat anyone in his section, as Rosalie was pretty diligent in taking guests to the more desirable tables. Apparently, Edward was a good tipper, too, for Bella had not seated anyone for Jessica or Mike, either.

"It's just a Tuesday," Rosalie smirked when Bella flopped over the hostess stand dramatically. "Wait until Friday and Saturday nights. We have a two hour wait then."

"I'll be fine by then," Bella assured her. "It's overwhelming for sure, but I'll get the hang of it."

"If you want to, just step into the bar and breathe for a second. We're slowing down a lot, so I don't need you right now."

"Ah... Hmm." Bella decided to not feel insulted and scurried through the double doors into the bar area.

"Hi!" a tinkling voice called.

Bella looked up to see a short girl behind the bar, struggling to carry a several martini glasses. Every glass made it safely to the stainless steel cooler below the bar, and Bella let out a slow, relieved breath.

"You're new?" the girl said as she began to toss several ingredients into a shiny silver shaker.

"Yeah. Hi. I'm Bella." Bella's eyes were glued to the girl's hands as they hovered over several bottles as if in indecision.

"I think a..." the tiny girl tapped her chin thoughtfully while Bella looked on in bafflement. "Yes! The cosmos are telling me that you need a pineapple upside-down martini! And lucky for you, I need a taste tester. How fortuitous is _that?"_

A cone-shaped paper cup was shoved into Bella's hand.

"Don't be shy, now. I can take the criticism, and I want it to be perfect before I ask Carlisle if we can add it to the menu. I've created four of the drinks that are on the Hospitaliano menus nationwide, and they all took a lot of tweaking. I can handle the criticism, seriously."

Bella held the cone filled with alcohol and worried it might eat through the paper, given the fumes that were wafting her way. She started to tip it toward her lips when the girl started talking again. A quick glance at her nametag revealed she was called Alice.

"So, you should come with us over to O'Malley's when we get done. Their drinks are shitty, but the appetizers are half-price. When Emmett's around, that's kind of a necessity. Actually, the drinks are half-price, too, but they're so bad that they're still overpriced. So, do you like it? You haven't even taken a sip yet!"

Bella blinked and looked back at the paper cone. The liquid inside hadn't yet burned through the cup, so she shrugged and tipped it into her mouth. Instantly, the flavors of vanilla, pineapple, and warm sugar swirled together on her tongue and she gasped.

"It tastes _just like _pineapple upside-down cake!" she exclaimed.

"I _knew _it!" Alice said pumped her fist in the air. "Well, I hoped. I've had four already and, to be honest, everything is starting to taste really good. So, you'll go with us tonight to O'Malley's?"

Bella felt her head spinning and she wasn't sure if it was from the strength of the drink she had just consumed or the inability of the shorter girl to stay on one topic for more than five seconds. "I can go, I guess. I don't know anyone at all yet, so it might be—"

"Oh, bullshit. You know me now. I don't like just everyone, but I like you. "

Bella couldn't explain the warmth that swept through her at Alice's words. However exhausting the girl was, Bella liked her, too. Perhaps Alice was one of the wonderful people that Esme had been talking about.

With something to be nervous about, the rest of the night passed in a flash. She walked arm in arm with Alice through the door of O'Malley's before she even realized that she had clocked out at Hospitaliano.

The bar had a distinct "fake Irish" feel to it, with Guinness ads and Irish whiskey posters alongside features on Irish authors and Dublin's Georgian doors. There was a group of people in the back corner of the bar, recognizable because of the rancid neckties that they wore. Bella allowed Alice to drag her into the midst of the crowd.

"Hey, New Girl! Everyone's been talking about you. You're just as hot as they said." A giant bear of a guy loped across the bar and swooped Bella into his arms.

"Um... Thanks?" Bella squirmed uncomfortably in his vise-like grip.

He set her down abruptly and she staggered a bit before plopping into the nearest chair.

"Who said she was hot?" Alice demanded, putting her fists on her hips.

The guy was spared having to answer because the rest of the closers from that evening suddenly joined them. Bella didn't even get a chance to find out the bear's name, but she thought he was better looking than most people had a right to be. With close-cropped, dark brown curls and sparkling blue eyes, the muscles seemed to take the back seat, giving the impression he was more over-grown five-year-old than over-grown frat boy.

However, he slammed his first beer before Bella could even twist the top from hers and let out a belch that rattled the light fixture, causing her to rethink her previous assessment.

"I'm Emmett," he finally said. "What's your name, New Girl?"

"Bella Swan." Her voice could barely be heard over the music, but Emmett could see the blush creeping up her neck.

"Bella Swan, huh? Last name and everything. I don't think I know anyone else's last name. Nametag universe. We call everyone by what they pin on their shirt. Well, Bella Swan, I think you're cute. If you need anything, or if anyone bothers you, you let me know. I'm the master of the kitchen, and all bow to me."

"Mike says he met you earlier," Alice interrupted, giving Emmett an indulgent smile.

She was obviously fond of him, and that put Bella at ease. She nodded and gave Mike a small wave. An icy blonde with too much jewelry on her fingers and wrists sat down across the table from her, and Bella deduced she was the fabled Lauren.

"Hi," she offered, but was rebuffed when Lauren turned around completely and spoke to a tall, dark-skinned boy who looked like he might be Native American.

She recognized him as one of the busboys, but it didn't appear she would get a chance to learn his name.

"Bitch," Alice whispered, nodding toward Lauren. "So Emmett was going to tell us who thinks you're hot!"

She was loud enough to gain the attention of the entire group, and to fully mortify Bella, all at once.

"Whoever it is, add me to the list," the busboy said with a good-natured wink. Bella dipped her head and pulled the band from her ponytail to create a curtain behind which she could hide.

"Me, too!" Mike added enthusiastically.

"Oh, for God's sake," Lauren sniffed. "She's a mouse. She'll be gone in a month. Let's move on."

"Don't listen to her, Suzy Q." Emmett dropped a beefy arm around Bella's shoulders and steered her away from the venomous girl. "You're the cutest thing to walk through the doors of Hospitaliano since Rosie. And that's saying something."

He cast a dirty look back at Lauren and laughed when she flipped him off.

"So who thinks she's hot?" Alice persisted. "Someone in the kitchen?"

"Apparently, everyone," Emmett teased.

"Stop!" Bella whispered, burying her face in her hands.

On the inside, she was tap dancing. After all, she'd heard Edward yelling at Emmett and wondered if they might be friends. It was a long shot, of course. First, that Emmett would put up with his friends talking to him like that, and secondly, that Edward would, in a million years, think she was worthy of him. There was the question, though... And just that hint of possibility made her want to dance.

"Some of the kitchen staff thinks you're nice to look at, no doubt." Emmett continued as if Bella hadn't spoken at all. "But the one I'm thinking about in particular likes to come in and abuse the kitchen staff at regular intervals."

At that, Bella's heart soared. Edward had yelled at Emmett. That was abuse. It had to be Edward.

"In my dreams," she muttered.

"We all abuse you at regular intervals," Mike pointed out.

Bella's balloon of hope popped with Emmett's loud chuckle.

"I know you do. I can't make it too easy on her, now can I?" He reached over and ruffled Bella's hair like she was a five-year-old, and she batted him away viciously.

"You guys are boring," Lauren said, stubbing out her cigarette and pushing back from the table.

The group fell silent as she stalked away, then burst into snickers when she was out of earshot.

"Why does she bother to come?" Alice complained.

"Tyler closed tonight, and she hoped he'd be here," Mike divulged. "Guess she doesn't know he's out with Jess right now."

Everyone giggled again at the thought of Jess getting Lauren's guy.

"So you still haven't told us—" Alice started, but Emmett clapped a hand over her mouth.

"And I'm not going to!" he assured her.

There was some half-hearted grumbling as that particular topic of conversation died. Alice quickly rebounded with a suggestion to visit a local casino, and the group was off and running again. Bella watched as everyone fell into a comfortable routine and wondered if she would ever feel at home with the group. Mike chose that moment to slide into the booth next to her and grin. She licked her lips nervously and ducked her head, waiting for his opening line.

"You like it so far?" He tipped his beer up for a swig.

She shrugged and nodded, but she wasn't entirely honest.

"Well, I'm sure I will," she amended, knowing she'd been caught. "Most people have been really nice so far."

She glanced at Alice and warmth built in her chest. Alice had just been amazing, she thought.

"I've never met anyone as nice as Alice," she admitted before she realized it.

"Everyone loves Alice," Mike acknowledged.

Alice caught the last of their exchange and grinned, clinking her beer bottle against Mike's.

The rest of the night was filled with easy chatter, and Bella was actually sad when everyone stood to go. She followed them out after paying her meager tab and turned to wave to Alice, but the girl had squealed and taken off across the parking lot at a dead run. Even sprinting like a maniac, she looked as though she was dancing.

With a silent laugh to herself, Bella unlocked her truck and climbed into the cab. As she started the engine, she noticed a silver car under the streetlight about four spaces down. A familiar profile was visible through the tinted windows, and hands were gripping at messy red-gold locks. At first, she thought someone was in the car with Edward pulling at his hair, but upon closer inspection, she realized he was alone. It appeared that he was muttering to himself as he scrubbed his hair furiously.

With a shrug, she put the truck into gear and backed away slowly. When she passed in front of his car, she glanced over to see his face one last time. With a start, she realized he was staring right at her. She slammed on the brakes without thinking, and held his gaze for a long moment. He looked as if he wanted to get out of the car, and she held her breath to see if he would. Instead, he raised a hand slowly and waved with a wry grin.

She let out her breath in a long whoosh and nodded back. It took all of her strength to press the accelerator, but when she did, she didn't look back.


	3. Free Pour

**Free Pour**

-To pour a cocktail without the use of a measuring device.-

When Bella arrived to work on her third day, she found there had been a changing of the guard. Rosalie wasn't scheduled to work, and she wanted to fall to her knees and thank Ghirardelli. Instead, a friendly girl with stick-straight black hair and sparkling grey eyes met her.

"I'm Angela." The girl gestured vaguely toward her nametag. "And you're Bella. Rosalie told me all about you before she left. I didn't listen to a damn word she said."

"Big ol' plus to my day," Bella said brightly. "I'm pretty sure she thinks I'm an idiot."

"Rosalie thinks everyone is an idiot. Even her boyfriend, Emmett." Angela giggled.

A ripple of surprise passed over Bella, as she'd spent many hours the night before with Emmett and had received no clue he dated the ice queen. His comments had rather led her to believe he had an unrequited crush. Quickly, she scanned her tipsy ramblings from the bar to see if she'd said anything insulting but was pleased to find that she'd kept her head for the most part.

She was also pleased to note her third day went very smoothly without Rosalie's constant scowling presence. She received many dirty looks from Lauren, but as Lauren was not technically her superior, she didn't much care. She did, however, watch Edward carefully. He'd seemed very frustrated the night before, just before he'd offered her his little half-smirk. As he had yet to speak a word to her, she couldn't quite grasp the reason for her concern.

For his part, Edward managed to avoid the new girl at every turn. Even when she happened to seat someone in his section, he loitered with his guests until she was gone before greeting the new table. She felt his eyes on her, though, and couldn't help but wonder why he couldn't at least just say hi.

"You're dreaming," Lauren snapped when she caught Bella staring.

"Huh-wha?" Bella said, startled from her reverie.

She'd just once more witnessed Edward chatting away with Angela as she strolled past one of his tables. He didn't seem to talk to many people, but he never failed to speak to Angela. If she were to guess, she might assume he was interested in the pretty girl.

"Edward. You. Not a chance in Hell," Lauren clarified.

Bella felt her cheeks begin to heat, but she forced herself to shrug nonchalantly. "I didn't realize I had zoned out. I better take a break."

With that, she left the poisonous blonde behind.

Angela seemed to have the host stand well under control, so Bella waved a quick greeting and veered into the bar area to find Alice. The area behind the bar seemed empty, and her shoulders slumped in disappointment.

"Well, shit," she muttered.

At that moment, a blond head poked up and looked around for the source of the profanity. Bella's face flamed again when she realized someone was present, and she'd never met that someone before. The guy was extremely handsome, she noted, and he offered a relaxed smile.

"You're looking for Alice?" he guessed, plopping six icy bottles of beer onto the smooth wood surface in front of him.

Swiftly, he proceeded to remove the caps with an opener that he produced from his pocket. The action was so deft that Bella hardly saw the device appear and then disappear once the task was done.

Bella merely nodded, for she hadn't yet found her tongue. She tried to stop herself from studying the seriously beautiful guy behind the bar, but there was something magnetic about him. He loped over the slippery tiles with an easy grace, handling the bottles and glasses with a light touch.

"She's not working tonight," the victim of her ogling announced. If he'd noticed her staring, he gave no indication. "I'm Jasper. Heard a lot about you, Bella. My girl is a big fan."

Before she thought, Bella replied, "I'm gonna go out on a limb here and guess that your girl isn't Rosalie or Lauren, then."

Jasper let out a startled bark of laughter and shook his head. "Not a chance in Hell. Rosalie's okay once you get to know her, but she's taken. Lauren? We all stay far from that. No, no. Alice is my girl. She seems to think you're the best friend she never met before."

Bella shrugged. "I like her a lot. She's definitely the nicest person I've met so far. And Emmett. Emmett is really funny. He likes to hug me, though. Is that normal?"

Jasper chucked again and nodded. "Yeah. He's a hugger all right. Along with Edward, they're probably my closest friends here. You'll find he's a good friend, too. Edward, I mean."

Bella grimaced at his name and shook her head. "He hasn't said a word to me. In fact, I think he's avoiding me. Pretty sure he's decided that he doesn't like me."

"Don't be too sure too soon," Jasper cautioned. "He's not everyone's fave, but he is a good guy. "

Bella nodded distractedly as she watched Jasper toss several liquors into a shaker. He seemed to be just as comfortable behind the bar as Alice was, but his style was much more relaxed. Where Alice was focused and deliberate with each measurement, Jasper poured freely.

"Here," he said, straining the remainder of the mixed drink he'd just prepared into a paper cone. "Call it research. Esme won't care anyway. If she does find out, she'll just be mad at me for not saving her some."

Bella smiled into the cup and tipped the cocktail into her mouth. "Whoa!" she gasped. "This is... wow!"

"Chocolate covered strawberry martini. Glad you like it. Alice's creation."

"She's a genius! That was not enough. I could sit and drink that all night long. Wow."

Bella was surprised at how easy talking to Jasper was. She felt almost as if she could sit right there at the bar and tell him her whole life story. Beyond that, he was so nice to look at. He was tall and slender, but she could tell from his visible forearms that he was rather fit. His regulation shirt lay smoothly over a broad chest, and even the ridiculously ugly tie looked trendy on him.

"We're always slow on Wednesdays," he said. "Are you closing tonight?"

Bella nodded as she climbed down from her stool. Her heel got caught and she stumbled into the bar.

"I swear I'm just a klutz," she blurted. "I can hold my alcohol."

"Wasn't going to say a word," he said with a grin. "When the customers—sorry, guests—are all gone, you can come sit with me while I close down. I'd love the company. Edward usually comes by, so maybe you guys can finally talk. Don't write him off just yet, okay?"

"Sure," Bella said with a shrug.

She knew Edward would not join them. Besides the few times he'd helped her, he'd shown absolutely no desire to be around her in any way.

She sauntered back to the host stand to find a couple waiting.

"Has anyone helped you yet?" she asked, wondering if Angela had stepped away to check for a table.

"Haven't seen anyone yet," the man said. He looked slightly annoyed, but relaxed at her smile.

"We just walked in, actually." His answering smile was sheepish, and the girl with him smacked his arm playfully.

"Quit giving the girl a hard time," she said.

Angela rushed back up at that moment. "Thanks, Bella. I wanted to make sure you had a long enough break, but I just couldn't get away. Can you take them to Edward's table?"

"Of course. Right this way." She grabbed two menus from Angela and led them through the dining room to a corner booth.

As expected, Edward was nowhere to be seen. James, however, had just the check for his only table and eyed the new guests with interest. He saw Bella watching him, so he turned quickly and sauntered back toward the kitchen. She knew he'd be back, and wondered if she could find Edward in time to save him from losing his table.

"Why should I care?" she mumbled to herself as she walked away.

The clock was ticking, though, and she couldn't get the predatory look in James's eyes out of her head. He wanted that table, and if there weren't coasters on it in less than a minute, he'd have it.

"Damn it!" she muttered, grabbing two coasters from the basket and whirling around.

"Edward asked me to let you know that he's tied up in the kitchen for just another minute, but he is on his way. I would be happy to bring some drinks for you while you're waiting, though." She set the coasters down on the table and breathed a sigh of relief that she'd protected Edward's territory, even if he'd never know that she'd done it.

When she'd received the order, she turned around and saw Edward watching her with a bemused expression. Her heart dropped, and she wondered if she had overstepped her bounds. With a determined set to her shoulders, she stopped directly in front of him.

"James wanted your table, so I put down some coasters for you. Hope you don't mind. They want the peach tea. I can get it if you like, so you can go greet them properly."

When Edward merely nodded, she wanted to kick him directly in the shins. Both legs.

"I shouldn't have cared," she grumbled, as she made her way to the kitchen.

A glance toward the host stand let her know that Angela had everything well under control, so she hurriedly poured two glasses of the tea and delivered them to Edward's table. He was, again, nowhere to be found.

"Damn ingrate."

oOo

When the last guest left the building, she made her way back to the bar to sit with Jasper, as he'd suggested. She stopped short at the door when she saw Edward was already seated at the far end, counting out his money for the evening. His brow furrowed in concentration as he separated his credit card slips from the cash and coupons, and she wished fervently that he wasn't so damn beautiful.

Part of her wanted to turn and run, but the greater part of her said Jasper had invited her and she had every right to be there. She scooted a bar stool out and winced at the obnoxious scraping sound the heavy wooden chair made. Edward looked up and caught her eye, but dropped his attention back to his task almost immediately. Bella huffed out a sigh and rolled her eyes. Of course he wouldn't think to thank her. She hoped the couple had stiffed him.

Climbing up onto the stool took a bit of effort. Each time she placed a foot onto the rung to push herself up, the chair began to tip. For some reason, she hadn't had as much trouble the first time, but now that Edward could witness her severe lack of grace, the task was much harder. Just as she was about to give up, she felt a pair of hands encircle her waist and lift her into the seat.

"Better?" Mike asked with a grin as he slid onto the stool beside her.

"Thanks." She turned her attention away from the beautiful boy at the other end of the bar. As far as she was concerned, he didn't deserve another thought from her.

"How'd you get stuck closing in your first week?" Mike asked, propping his chin in his hand. "Not that I mind at all. You're going to O'Malley's again, right?"

Bella shrugged in answer to both of his questions. She could feel Edward's eyes on her and thought maybe his decision to go out with the rest of the group depended on her answer. She wondered if declining meant he would choose to attend, and therefore get a chance to spend time with his friends. She could appreciate that he knew them first, so she shook her head slowly.

"I don't think I will tonight. It was fun, but I probably need to get a better sense of my school schedule before I start staying out all night."

As she spoke, Edward closed his serving book with a snap and scooted his stool back with a jarring screech. She cringed at the sound and looked up to find him staring at her again. She couldn't decipher is expression at all, and she felt the urge to roll her eyes at him.

"So... you know. There are some people that just don't like me, I think. They won't have to worry about me being there," she continued, looking back to Mike.

"Lauren sucks," Mike said, fortunately missing the barbed arrow of her comment.

Edward, however, stalked from the room without looking back. Bella smiled and mentally patted herself on the back.

"She is pretty vicious," Bella agreed.

With Edward gone, her mood lightened considerably. She wondered if there was any way she could sweet talk Carlisle into changing her schedule around a bit so that she wouldn't have to see him as often.

oOo

As it turned out, she didn't have to see Edward again for three full days. She wasn't scheduled to work on Thursday or Friday, and she worked the lunch shift on Saturday, which meant she was clocked out and in front of the television at home before Edward arrived to work.

The three days she spent without seeing him put things into perspective for her. She decided that however gorgeous he may be, he clearly lacked in the personality department. Therefore, he was no longer worth any more of her thoughts. She held fast to this affirmation all day Sunday, never wavering once. Never wavering, that was, until she walked through the doors of Hospitatiano and saw Edward at the host stand, almost as if he'd been waiting for her.

His eyes seemed to burn into hers, and she contemplated turning right back around and running for her truck.

_He's not worth your time, _she muttered to herself. With a huff of indignation, she yanked the door open.

Edward had indeed been waiting for her, and he moved around the host stand to meet her. When she realized there was no way to avoid him, she stopped just inside the door but started forward again when the heavy glass swung into place and smacked her backside. She stumbled over the threshold and winced as the floor rose to meet her face. Before she could even move her arms to catch herself, she crashed into something warm and solid.

"Whoa, sweetheart."

Her heart stopped. The voice was of the smoothest caramel, and it could only belong to one person. Edward...well, Edward. His nametag didn't carry his last name. Edward with the artfully mussed hair and the green eyes. Edward with the sinfully fit, masterfully built body. Edward...whatever his last name was, who had never once spoken to her, not in the full week she had worked at Hospitaliano.

And Bella, in true form, had literally fallen over her feet, just to hear those beautiful two words. She felt her face flood with heat and contemplated the nearest exit from the comedy unfolding around her. _Two in the back, and two at the front of the theater, _she concluded ruefully.

"Are you planning an escape already?" Edward murmured. His hand lifted, his fingers hovering over her cheek, but he dropped it before touching her.

Bella suddenly found her feet rooted to the spot, all thoughts of fleeing dissipating in a puff of smoke. Instead, she leaned into his touch and lowered her eyes to the floor. Her face flamed even more, which made meeting his gaze impossible. She spied a book tucked into his black serving apron, and her curiosity snared her.

Her hand reached for the book just as Edward tucked his fingers underneath her chin, and as he directed her to look at him once more, her grasp fell to the left of the book. And directly on his crotch.

Edward hissed and backed away, just as Bella yelped, "Oh, shit!"

"Oh, Jesus, Edward. I'm so sorry. I really did not meant to—" Bella babbled as her face neared Mortification Level: Code Red.

"It's okay, sweetheart. You just took me by surprise. I _really _didn't mind." He flashed his crooked smile. "Perhaps next time you'll let me take you to dinner first?"

Bella's mouth fell open, and she tried a few times to squeak out some sort of response. Absolutely nothing came to mind, so she flashed some semblance of a grin. He was already gone, leaving her flushed, unable to catch her breath, and more than a little turned on.


	4. Fire It

**Fire It**

-Order given by the chef to begin cooking.-

"Hello, Beautiful."

Bella heard him before she saw him, and heat instantly began to rise from her collarbones.

"I thought about that blush all night." He brushed aside the ponytail that hid her skin from his view.

She turned to him with her bottom lip clamped between her teeth, and gazed at him through her eyelashes.

"And that _lip, _for fuck's sake!" he muttered.

She trembled as he touched her chin lightly with his thumb to tug her lip free.

"Save a seat for me at O'Malley's tonight? We're both closing; I checked."

Bella's knees turned to jelly as he walked away, and she mentally kicked herself for playing the idiot mute once again. She could only stare at his quickly retreating form before shaking her head and cursing under her breath.

"Whatever he said, he didn't mean it," Alice said, startling Bella yet again.

Bella let the words sink in and shook her head slowly. "I figured as much."

"He's not really a jerk, though. He's just... shy."

Bella turned incredulous eyes onto her new friend and let loose a bitter laugh. "Edward...whatever his last name is... is _far _from shy! Shy people don't say those things to someone! I know! I _am _shy!"

"What did he say?" Alice asked, her eyes growing to the size of saucers.

"It's not important, I guess. He probably just... I don't know. I guess maybe I'm just making too much of it. He just... Wow, he's really nice looking isn't he? I guess girls just kind of fall at his feet, right?"

"They try," Alice giggled. "He... Well, I guess he just prefers to take things at his own pace."

"A quick one," Bella muttered.

Alice raised a quizzical eyebrow, but Rosalie interrupted the girls before Alice could ask what the hell Bella meant.

"I know it's Monday and we don't exactly have guests out the door yet, but perhaps you could seat your first guest for the evening? I mean, if you're not too busy?" Rosalie pursed her lips and glared at Bella.

She grabbed the menus from Rosalie's outstretched hand and approached the family of six that waited by the door.

Alice rolled her eyes at Rosalie. "Do you have to be so hard on her, babe? I like her."

"We all go through the initiation, Alice. She's a bit of a half-wit, isn't she? Always blushing and stammering and shit? Is that natural? I mean, really. Is that normal?"

"She's just kind of shy, Rosalie. I don't think she's stupid at all. And Edward's done something to hurt her feelings, I think, so you just made it worse." Alice glanced into the bar area to see if anyone was searching for her, but there wasn't a soul in sight.

"Edward?" Rosalie said, a tone of wonder in her voice. "How did _he _manage to upset her? Girls are usually sighing over everything he says!"

"I don't know, but she looked pretty taken aback. Maybe he'll say something to Jasper about it. I'll find out." Alice nudged her friend with her shoulder and grinned. "I think we're all going to be at O'Malley's tonight. Won't it be fun to just watch?"

"You can be evil, little girl. I'm up for a bit of a show... whatever it is we're watching. Seriously, though. Do you think he was mean?" Rosalie's brow furrowed as she spied Bella heading back to the host stand.

"You softie," Alice whispered. "Not the ice queen everyone thinks you are, huh?"

"She's just like a little puppy, you know? She'll inevitably piss on the carpet and I'll have to kick her ass, but she's just so damn cute. Damn it! I _am _losing my touch!"

"Well, I won't tell anyone. Personally, I think it's the big hunk of love that you've been going home with every night. Or was I not supposed to know about that?" Alice teased.

"I'm really not dumb enough to think that no one knows," Rosalie laughed. "I'll be the first to admit that I thought he might have a bit too much frat boy in him, but when we're alone... Jesus. He's just amazing. He says the sweetest things, and I just _know _that it's not bullshit. I mean, I have no doubt he was just trying to get into my pants at first, but he's not all about that anymore. Is it crazy that I think I might have met 'the one' in the kitchen of a Hospitaliano?"

"I met mine behind the bar of one, so I don't think it's crazy at all. None of us are deluded enough to believe that this job is forever. We're all in transition, here. Shelly? She's a lifer. Doug? Lifer. Ooh! Wouldn't they be cute together?"

Rosalie made a face at the mental picture Alice had just presented. "Gross, you freak! That will be stuck in my head all day. I'll find a way to get back at you for that one. Damn!"

"Here she comes. Get your bitchface on," Alice teased. "We won't give away your secret too soon."

"You hag. Go mix a drink or something," Rosalie growled.

She did rearrange her features, though, so that she was scowling again by the time Bella returned.

"I'm going to see how it's going in the kitchen. Can you keep things under control here?"

"Sure," Bella shrugged.

She glanced around and saw that the empty lobby, but didn't harbor any hopes that it would stay that way. The dinner rush was still a good hour away. She camped out behind the host stand and colored a children's menu while twirling her ponytail through her fingers.

From the doorway of the bar, a pair of green eyes watched her. Edward tried to figure out the best way to approach her again, but he didn't want to scare her. She had seemed very affected by his earlier advances, but hitting with full force all the time might only succeed in chasing her away.

"Bella," he said softly and was delighted when she whipped around to face him.

He couldn't stop the smile, and she answered with her own. There was confusion in her eyes, however, and he wanted to kick himself for putting it there.

"What's up, Edward? No one's coming in right now, but I'll make sure you get a table as soon as possible."

She chewed on the inside of her lip for a moment as he sauntered toward her. When his tongue peeked between his lips for just a moment to moisten them, she actually thought she might faint.

"I'm not worried about tables tonight," he shrugged. "I did well this weekend, so I can afford a slow night or two. I just thought I'd come talk for a minute, since you're not busy either."

"Oh... I don't— I mean, I'm kind of boring." With an apologetic shrug, she turned back to the childish cartoon in front of her and added more red to the balloon with her crayon.

"Maybe you should let me decide if you're boring?" he ventured, plucking a yellow crayon from the box next to her.

She grinned as he began to color in the sun with confident strokes.

"You're a student." It was not a question, for he at least knew this much.

"At UDub." She nodded, pushing his hand out of the way in a fit of boldness. Just a few swipes of red gave the cartoon sun a new texture. Edward shrugged and tossed the yellow crayon into the fake ficus tree next to the wine cage before selecting the blue one.

"Studying?" he persisted.

"I do, on occasion. When I'm not here, that is." She allowed him to shade a non-existent sky on the page in front of her.

"Pardon me," he said with a smirk. "What are you studying?"

"Nope. You can't just ask a bunch of questions without offering up your own information. Are you a student?"

"Aaah, I understand the game." He rolled the crayon through his fingers as Bella watched, mesmerized. "I'm twenty-two and I just started the Master's program in Composition at Cornish. My parents are Edward Senior and Elizabeth, and I hail from Chicago. I'm a Gemini, but just barely, and I enjoy long walks on the beach and cuddling up beside a fire to read a good book. Your turn."

"Um... Oh. Okay," Bella stuttered with a nervous laugh. "I'm studying Psychology. I'm a Virgo, which apparently means I'm a perfectionist, but I have yet to see the proof of that."

"Mmmm, the virgin." Edward's voice was low and smooth. "I can work with that."

He winked and sauntered off before Rosalie could return to the podium, and left Bella blinking in disbelief.

"How is that all you got from the conversation?" she called after him when she found her voice.

He glanced back at her over his shoulder and smiled.

"You're wrong, you know," a voice piped up.

Bella jumped in surprise and whirled around to see Alice standing next to her. The tiny girl picked up the blue crayon that Edward had discarded and began to studiously color in the cartoon boy's shirt.

"Blue is a good color for him, don't you think?"

"For whom?" Bella asked, willing her heart rate to slow. "Edward? What am I wrong about?"

"For the boy," Alice said, nodding at the picture in front of her. "And Virgos aren't necessarily perfectionists. They're empathetic people. Good friends with open ears. And creative, too. Psychology will be a good field for you, I can tell."

"Guest at the bar, Alice," Esme called reprovingly.

Alice squeaked and slipped away with a grin and a wave. Just moments later, Esme took her place.

"How are you, dear?" she asked Bella with a smile.

Bella stuttered a bit and tried to hide the childish drawing she'd colored.

"Emm, I'm good, thanks," she said, finally shoving the paper between the pages of a menu.

Esme laughed and patted Bella's arm. "You should save that one. I have a wall full of them. Everyone helping you get situated?"

Esme wasn't blind. She saw many of the employees had been drawn to the new girl. Something about Bella just made people want to be around her, and the beautiful thing was that Bella didn't see it herself.

Carlisle had been unable to shut up about the unassuming brunette. The application she had submitted had been impeccable, but she had also provided a résumé as well, which had tickled Carlisle to death. The contents of the résumé, however, had not. Her volunteer work was an immediate standout, with her time going to battered women's shelters, children's group homes, and food banks. Beyond that, her GPA and test scores were stellar. She was a star, and she had no idea.

"Everyone is nice, so far," Bella said, looking down at her shoes.

"Well, don't let anyone give you shit. We're a bunch of pranksters here, just as long as it doesn't interfere with any of the guests. Don't let them get you first, okay?"

"Oh- Um... Pranks? Wow. Okay," Bella stuttered.

She reached surreptitiously to check her back to make sure that Edward hadn't planted a _Kick Me_ sign when they were talking earlier. It would certainly better explain his attentions. So far, all she had been able to come with was that he'd been abducted by aliens... or she had.

She didn't have time to ponder further, because the first in a steady stream of guests walked through the door. She remained so busy that she didn't even have a chance to worry about what was going to happen when she got to O'Malley's after closing and was sitting in a seat next to the one she had promised to save for Edward.

By the time the last guest left, she was sitting at the bar with Alice, drinking an Italian soda. One by one, the servers trooped in to count their take for the night. Mike hopped up on the stool next to Bella and grinned.

"Did pretty well tonight, actually. Mondays are never bad at Hospitaliano. I never had a table open after 5:30. And there was this one table of girls—you know, you seated them, didn't you? They tipped me forty bucks. On an eighty dollar check! Damn, I'm fine!"

Bella wanted to roll her eyes at his conceit, but he was just so damn cute that she couldn't. It seemed to be part of his charm. Mike was still talking when Edward walked in, and she lost half of Mike's last sentence.

"I'm sorry, Mike. I missed that. Say again?"

"Oh, um. I was just wondering what kind of shampoo you use to make your hair so shiny?" Mike said, busying himself with his receipts to hide his blush.

Bella pulled her hair forward and sniffed the ends experimentally. "Um... I don't know. My mom got me some stuff for my birthday. It's not really my style—kind foufy and smelly. But thanks."

"Smells like strawberries." Mike leaned over to smell her hair. "I use Pantene. I know that sounds girly, but I like how it makes my hair look. Is it nice, do you think?"

Bella's eyes widened and she stared at him, startled. She'd been certain he was flirting with her, but the discussion had shifted almost to girl-talk. Bella was uncomfortable with either conversational track.

"Is this for real?" Bella mumbled.

She glanced across the bar at Edward and watched as he shuffled through his money and receipts with long, dexterous fingers. Edward looked up at that moment and caught her staring. He raked a hand through his hair self-consciously and offered a half- smile. Bella thought she might melt into a puddle and slip right out of her chair.

Edward flipped his folder shut and stood gracefully. Bella wondered if she was supposed to get up and follow him out, since he had essentially asked her to join him at O'Malley's, or if that would make her look desperate and sad. Instead, she watched him, fully aware that ogling him made her appear desperate and sad as well, but not in such an obvious way. When he paused at the door and turned to her, her heart leapt into her throat. A raised eyebrow from him was all it took to have her scrambling from her stool, crashing into Mike, dropping her bag, tripping over her feet, and slinking to his side with flaming cheeks.

"Would you like to ride with me?" Edward asked, stepping in front of Bella quickly to open the door for her.

"My truck..." Bella faltered when the mental picture of being closed inside the tiny space of Edward's car became too much to bear.

Just when she thought she could handle no more mental stimulation, she felt the pressure of Edward's hand on the small of her back, leading her toward the silver car under a lamppost.

"I'll bring you back to it the moment you're ready to go," he promised as he unlocked the doors with a remote.

Bella stood quietly as he opened the passenger door for her before attempting to slip gracefully inside. "Attempting" being the operative word, since she cracked the top of her head on the inside of the doorframe.

"Well, shit," Bella sighed, as her eyes watered and nose tingled.

Edward crouched down and placed a hand gently over hers.

"Are you okay?" he asked, his eyes filled with true concern.

Bella turned her watery gaze upon him and huffed a laugh. "I'm fine, really. I do this stuff all the time."

He started to say something else, but she interrupted. "Please, Edward. Please just act like it didn't happen."

Edward's gaze searched her face for another moment to be certain that she was all right before nodding and shutting the door behind her. Bella watched as he strolled around the car and got in. She tried to rub the tender spot surreptitiously, but she knew he'd caught her when she heard him chuckling to himself. She shot a scowl in his direction, but it only made him laugh harder.

"Your face is so expressive," he said softly. "I feel like I always know what you're thinking, but you still manage to surprise me."

He loosened his tie and tossed it into the backseat before unbuttoning the top two buttons of his shirt. Bella watched every last movement, ready to turn away quickly if he caught her, but he didn't even glance her way. Instead, he casually put the car into gear.

Suddenly, the car shook as if a violent earthquake had struck and the occupants heard a maniacal laugh. Emmett wrenched open the backdoor and stuffed himself into the backseat.

"Hey, how's it going?" he asked, reaching up to ruffle Bella's hair.

She gasped and flung herself forward, away from him touch. Emmett stared at her in wonder, until Edward spoke up.

"Cracked her skull on the door," he muttered.

"Oh, Suzy Q! I'm sorry!" Emmett said, squeezing her shoulder in his meaty paw instead.

Rosalie daintily opened the door to the other side of the car and slid in gracefully, further emphasizing Bella's clumsiness.

The whole group was already assembled when the four arrived at O'Malley's. Alice surged forward and removed Bella and Rosalie from the fold, which left Edward and Emmett to order the beers. Bella dropped her bag casually into the seat next to hers in case Edward came back to the table. She hoped he'd choose that seat as he'd promised. He only dropped by the table long enough to deliver a beer to her, saying that Emmett had challenged him to a game of pool.

She stayed as long as she could, hoping for any time at all with Edward, but he was obviously tied up with the guys. Emmett and Mike were in high spirits, acting almost like college frat boys. It was fun to watch Edward attempt to escape them while also laughing along with them. She saw he was fond of them and truly enjoying himself but couldn't help wondering if he would rather be next to her.

When Bella realized it was midnight, she decided it was time to give up on the night. She drained the last of her beer, hugged the girls, and then approached the guys.

"Alice is going to take my back to my truck," Bella said softly.

"I'll walk you out," he said, tossing his pool cue to Emmett.

Bella shook her head, but he gave her a look that let her know that he was serious.

"Come on. If we beat them to the car, we can have a minute to ourselves."

Bella felt her heart race at the thought of being alone with him again. She'd barely survived the first attempt, and he was ready to go for round two. Edward's hand found its spot at the small of her back as he led her to the door. She waved at Mike and Emmett as she walked but could only concentrate on that one part of her body, where only the thin material of her standard issue shirt stood between her skin and his.

"Sorry I didn't get to spend much time with you," Edward said quietly.

"It's really okay," Bella assured him. "It was unwinding time. It's necessary."

"Well, I think getting to know you is pretty necessary, too," Edward said.

Bella's knees weakened at his pronouncement, and she had to pretend that she'd just tripped over a stone. Edward's arms wrapped around her and pulled her close, which only rendered her legs completely useless.

"Have to keep an eye on you," he murmured into her ear. "Can't have you getting injured, now."

Bella opened her mouth to assure him that she wouldn't get hurt but realized she couldn't bring herself to lie to him. Instead, she shrugged.

"If you're there to catch me every time, it's not much incentive to inspire me to be graceful."

Edward's jaw dropped, and Bella felt her cheeks heat with embarrassment. She hadn't intended to show her hand at all, let alone so soon. Edward took her hand gently and lifted it to his lips to press a small kiss to her knuckles.

"Every time," he promised. "I'll take any excuse to put my arms around you."


	5. Separate Check Hell

**Separate Check Hell**

-Parties of four or more that make outrageous demands-

"Hi! Welcome to Hospitaliano!" Bella felt like her face might crack.

The last thing she wanted to do was smile again, but there she was, pretending to be happy for at least another four hours. Her second week on the job had been very much as the first week had been. Rosalie was still as cold as ever, Alice was as bubbly as anyone could possibly stand, and Edward had been strangely unavailable.

She didn't get the feeling that he was trying to ignore her as she had the previous week. His smile still lit up the room when he saw her, but it was always from across the restaurant and never from right next to her, where she had hoped he would be. Rather than chase him down, she kept her distance as well.

The woman in front of her was counting up the members of her party in her head. "There are seven of us," she finally said with a nod.

"We actually have a six top ready, if you don't mind us adding an extra chair to the end. It can be a tight fit. Otherwise we can wait about ten minutes for the eight top," Bella said, studying the restaurant map in front of her to make sure she hadn't missed any other available tables.

"Sure, sure." The woman waved her hand dismissively. She turned and snapped at three kids dancing around her legs. "Stop it! We're getting ready to go eat, and you better straighten up."

Bella looked down at the children, who snapped to attention and gazed at their mother with angelic expressions on their faces. One was a little boy with blond hair in carefully arranged spikes, though he couldn't have been older than four. The other two were girls that must have flanked him in age. The older girl had blonde ringlets sprayed stiffly into place, and the younger girl had stick-straight blonde hair pulled into a painfully tight ponytail on top of her head. Bella offered them all a smile, and the boy stuck his tongue out at her.

With a roll of her eyes and a promise to herself she would _never _have children, she grabbed menus and crayons and started back for the table. On the way, she grabbed a chair from the wall and carried to place at the head of the table. As she placed the menus, three adults and the three children arranged themselves in the seats.

"Do you need a booster for any of the children?" she asked politely.

The woman looked at her blankly for a moment. "We actually need three more seats for them. There are four more people coming. Seven adults."

Bella's jaw dropped and she worked hard to pull it back into place. "There is no way I can fit three more chairs at this table. You'll have to come back to the front and wait until we have a table that can seat ten people. There are ten of you total."

"You told us we could be seated right away!" the woman said, her voice rising slowly on each syllable. She brushed her hands slowly down the pencil skirt she wore, and Bella could see she was preparing herself for a serious tantrum.

Bella thought quickly, but the very cheek of the woman had her so pissed off that coherent ideas were refusing to form. She lifted her chin and looked the woman right in the eye.

"You distinctly said you needed a table for seven. Your children count as people, too, so they must be included in the total count. As there are _actually _ten people in your party, we will need to wait for a table that can seat _ten _people."

"This is ridiculous!" the woman railed.

Her companions looked around them in embarrassment, as if they longed to go hide in a quiet corner. Bella was quite sure if they found that quiet corner, she would happily join them.

"There is nothing I can do about it," Bella said. "We cannot fit three more chairs at this table, and we certainly cannot ask other guests to leave so that we might accommodate you. You will have to wait."

By that time, the children had dropped their angelic facades and were running around the table in a makeshift game of tag, knocking into the chairs of other diners. Their mother was so intent on berating Bella, she had once more forgotten she even _had _children, and the other adult dinner companions had already begun creeping back toward the lobby.

"I want to speak to your manager," the woman said, completely incensed by this point.

"Absolutely, you may." Bella clenched her fists in an alternating pattern to avoid hitting someone.

She turned on her heel and nearly toppled over into a table of patrons that had been watching the whole exchange eagerly, as if they were in the middle of a daytime drama.

After a quick apology, she stalked back toward the lobby, clenching and unclenching her fists with each step. She felt her fingernails cutting into her palms and the searing glare from the woman behind her, but the only thing on her mind was turning the loony customer over to Esme and getting as far away from the situation as possible.

Fortunately, Esme was standing by the host stand when the group arrived, so Bella quickly explained the woman had a complaint and ran for the kitchen. She felt horrible for leaving Esme with the mess, but she feared if she stayed any longer, she would say something that might get her fired or possibly arrested.

Her first thought was to head straight for the break room, but she could see that the back door was propped open for some reason. The thought of the cool air on her face had her relaxing even before she changed directions. She slogged through the slippery dish room without her usual caution and almost did the splits three times as a result.

"Damn obstacle course!" she muttered as she literally fell through the back door.

A few snickers greeted her, and she looked up just in time to keep from crashing into a broad chest.

"Whoa, there," a deep voice said, dripping with amusement and suppressed laughter. The speaker reached out to help steady her, placing his hands on her shoulders.

"Sorry," Bella gasped, pulling herself out of his grasp quickly.

She had no intention of hurting anyone's feelings, but she was still so raw from the irritating guest that she was afraid she'd lash out in all the wrong places.

"You okay?" another guy asked, and Bella took a moment to look around at her company.

A group of busboys and line cooks were gathered, sitting on upturned milk crates. Each held a cigarette in various stages of consumption, which prompted Bella to back away slowly. She felt almost as if she'd wandered behind the bleacher at a football game and found herself among the "wrong crowd."

"Ummm," she mumbled, crossing her arms over her stomach. She wasn't sure what she was trying to protect herself from, but the instinct to run was strong.

"Hey." The boy that she had crashed into was trying to get her attention again.

She looked up and was suddenly hit with a jolt of recognition. He was a friend of Mike and Emmett—at least, she had seen them all talking together at O'Malley's many times.

"Oh...Jake, right?" She cursed her timid tone.

"Yeah. We all know you, too, Bella." He winked and backed away to offer her more room. "You look a little pissed off. What's up?"

With a sigh, Bella plopped down onto one of the empty milk crates. "You won't believe it, seriously."

"I don't think there's a story you could tell that we haven't already heard," one of the guys said. He was almost as tall as Jake, just as dark, but not nearly as handsome. He had a nice smile, though, and Bella relaxed even further on her new perch.

"This, this... _bitch _just came in and told me there were seven people in her party. She didn't count her kids! Seriously. We got all the way back to the table, and she pitched a fit because there wasn't enough room to add three chairs to the table for the kids. Who the hell doesn't count their kids as actual _people?"_

"That actually might be a new one." Jake laughed. "My favorite before that was the time Lauren screamed that a lady and her kid had skipped on the bill, had me clean their table, only to have the customers come back and wonder where their food went. She had to pay for their food out of her tips that day. Kicked ass."

Bella had to smile at the thought of Lauren getting some sort of payback for her bitchiness, even if it had come at the expense of some poor, unsuspecting customer. The trepidation she had felt just moments before had eased completely, and she leaned back into the brick wall with a sigh.

"You look like you could use one," Jake said, holding out a cigarette.

Bella took it without thinking and stared at it dumbly. The click of a lighter by her ear startled her back into action and she dropped it into her lap. Chuckles erupted from the guys, but she didn't feel any malice in the laughter. She gingerly lifted the cigarette again and placed it between her lips.

"Why not?" she muttered around the slender white stick.

The lighter appeared again and she puffed delicately as the flame kissed the tobacco. For a moment, she held the smoke in her mouth and wrinkled her nose at the taste. With a splutter, she expelled it without inhaling and made a gagging noise.

"Did you inhale?" one of the guys asked with a smirk.

Bella eyed his nametag with a scowl. "No, Embry, I did not inhale. I watched Grease. I know what happens if I inhale."

"You kind of miss out on the whole experience if you don't inhale, sweetheart," Jake said, teasingly. "You do look hot as hell with that cigarette, though. Jesus."

Bella studied the way her slender fingers held the cigarette in place. There was something of the "Old Hollywood" about the image, so she slowly lifted her hand and wrapped her lips around the end again. She could feel every last eye on her as she pulled in the smoke slowly, this time inhaling just a bit. There was a tickle in her throat and a burn in her lungs, but she clamped her teeth together to keep from coughing like a novice.

A muttered curse was heard, and then a bit of shuffling as every boy readjusted his position on his milk crate.

Bella smirked and went for another puff, taking in more smoke as she inhaled. The burn was still present, but suddenly it was accompanied by a very pleasant buzzing in her head.

"Ohhh," she murmured.

"That's why we smoke," Jake said with a laugh.

Bella experimented a bit more before deciding it was indeed a nice feeling, but that she would probably save smoking for dire occasions. She was taking one last drag when Edward stepped over the threshold. He was struggling with his own pack of Marlboro Lights, but he looked up just in time to see her pull the cigarette from between her lips and exhale a stream of smoke.

"Holy shit," he muttered, dropping his lighter and fumbling the pack of cigarettes before letting them fall to the ground as well.

Jake let out a bark of laughter and swung a meaty fist toward Edward's shoulder. Edward attempted to dodge the blow by leaning down to retrieve his fallen articles, but his gaze caught on Bella's, and he froze for a moment, which allowed Jake's fist to just barely graze his arm.

Bella, feeling the first surge of confidence ever in Edward's presence, proceeded to smirk and settle the cigarette between her lips once more. She heard Embry mutter another curse, and the oath seemed to snap Edward out of his reverie.

He straightened and flashed her a crooked grin before he lit up his own smoke. Bella finally realized what the boys found so sexy about her clumsy attempts as she watched Edward inhale reverently. His brow furrowed a bit, like he was concentrating on thoroughly enjoying every last milligram of nicotine he could. She wondered if he was as attentive to his lovers and felt her cheeks flush. Her imagination headed down that road, however, and she couldn't stop the mental picture of Edward's face between her thighs, that same worshipful expression on his face.

Bella's previous decision to smoke only on special occasions was immediately discarded as she determined she would head straight for the back door any time she thought she might be able to watch Edward enjoy a cigarette. If it meant a hopeless addiction to the cancer sticks, then she'd just add that to the growing list of vices—which also included one Edward...

_I really need to learn his last name, _she thought.


	6. Mispick

**Mispick**

-An item received that does not match the order-

"So, my last name is Swan," Bella said the moment she saw Edward, and then mentally cursed herself.

It had been three days since they had last been scheduled to work together, and the first thing she could come up with to say when she _did _see him again was a recitation of her last name.

Edward apparently had the same thought, for he raised an eyebrow and smirked. Bella rolled her eyes and sighed.

"This is the part where you volunteer your last name," she said, cocking her own left eyebrow.

"I'm vaguely aware of how this thing works." Edward grinned. "We had a lesson just last week, right? What if I don't want to answer? What if I want to tuck that little bit of information away for my own personal use?"

His tongue peeked out and swiped the corner of his mouth, and Bella felt the muscles in her thighs protest. She couldn't figure out if those muscles were trying hard to rub together, or if they wanted to just give up the fight completely and drop her to the floor.

"Right. I admit that I may have presented the information a bit...prematurely. Perhaps I should wait for you to ask from now on." She tried not to blush and give away just how flustered she was, but Edward's knowing look quickly tore down her façade.

To make things even harder, Edward leaned forward so his breath washed warmly over her ear.

"I might never have asked," he murmured. "I already knew your last name. I've had the advantage this whole time."

"You're right," Bella whispered, covering her trembling lips with a shaking hand.

Edward had already turned swiftly and walked away before she managed to speak, so she didn't think he had heard her.

"You look like you've seen a ghost," Alice said from the doorway of the bar.

Bella jumped in fright and flung a hand over her chest as if to keep her heart from leaping out.

"Just Edward... Whatever his last name is." She busied herself with a pile of menus. "He's such an ass sometimes, isn't he?"

"I've never noticed that," Alice said,

"I _really _don't understand him," Bella continued as if Alice had not spoken. "I mean, one minute he's completely ignoring me or smirking at me from across the restaurant and the next he's..."

Alice leaned forward excitedly, but Bella didn't finish her thought. Instead, she stared off in the direction that Edward had taken and scowled fiercely.

Alice snapped her fingers in front of Bella's face. "He's what? What has he done to prompt that scowl?"

Bella started to answer with a garbled version of what she had in her head, but the sight of Carlisle distracted her again. It wasn't exactly unusual to see the General Manager roaming around the restaurant. It was, however, a little unusual to see the look of absolute lust that he was wearing. It was so feral that Bella felt her breath catch in her throat, and for a moment she forgot that Edward...whatever his last name was even existed.

Even from across the lobby of the restaurant, Bella could see that Carlisle's normally clear blue eyes had darkened to almost navy blue, and they were narrowed with focus on someone very near Bella. She allowed herself the brief fantasy that the look was just for her, but she knew Alice was a much more likely candidate, with her petite figure and china doll features.

"Hello, girls." Esme startled Bella out of her Carlisle daydreams.

"Oh, um, Esme… Hi!" Bella licked her lips nervously and tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

Alice gave a little wave and danced through the doorway back into the bar area.

"What were you girls talking about?" Esme wondered as she looked over the floor layout.

"Boys," Bella answered promptly, then bit her lip with a silent curse.

"Of course you were," Esme said with a warm smile. "Not all of them are worth it. In fact, less than ten percent of them are worth it. But the ones that are, Bella..."

Esme trailed off and Bella followed her gaze toward the kitchen door where Carlisle had stood only moments before.

"Oh," Bella said again, and smacked herself in the forehead.

Of course Carlisle hadn't been staring at girls half his age. Esme, in her sleek pencil skirt and fitted jacket, was definitely more Carlisle's...age? Style?

Whatever the word, she was gorgeous, and Bella didn't blame Carlisle for any inappropriate thoughts he may have had.

"We'll probably be pretty busy after eight tonight, Bella, because the softball and baseball games will be ending at about that time. With Rosalie out sick and Angela scheduled to leave at eight-thirty, I'll need you to really help me keep everything running smoothly."

"Of course," Bella said with a smile. "No more boy talk with Alice. I'll save it for O'Malley's."

"Good choice. And I'll stop looking at...boys, too," Esme laughed. "Wish I could join you guys, but corporate frowns on that. I have a feeling I'll need a beer after tonight."

Bella glanced around and saw Lauren and Jessica approaching, so she leaned in and quickly murmured, "What can they possibly say if you went for a drink and we all just happened to be there? Would they tell you that you just couldn't talk to us?"

With her eye on the girls, Esme laughed and said, "Don't give me any ideas that you're sneaky, Bella. I'll have to keep a close eye on you and your innocent face and big eyes. You'd have anyone convinced that you're an angel."

"I have just as much devil in me as the next person," Bella giggled. "I just don't let her out to play very often."

"Don't tell anyone I said this, but you should. The devil in you will keep you young," Esme said. She looked Lauren and Jessica up and down once before moving away from the host podium with a sheaf of papers. Apparently they had passed muster.

"What's my section tonight, Bella?" Jessica pulled the seating chart out of Bella's grasp.

Bella was so shocked Jessica actually got her name right that she let the laminated sheet go without a struggle.

"You can change me if I'm in a bad section, can't you?" Lauren asked, looking down her long nose at Bella.

"I don't know," Bella said with a shrug. "Esme just now split up the sections, so she'd probably notice if I changed it."

"Oh, hmmm," Lauren said, peering at the chart over Jessica's shoulder. "She's still putting me on the opposite side as Edward."

"Why would she do that?" Bella asked before she could stop herself. Her cheeks flamed immediately, and she was sure her completely inappropriate crush was written all over her face.

Lauren smirked and shrugged. "I guess because of what happened in the wine cage a few months ago."

"Lauren!" Jessica giggled, cutting her eyes to Bella in an effort to catch Bella's reaction.

Bella struggled to keep her expression light—bored, even. Her apparent lack of interest only pushed Lauren to reveal more.

"He's quite well endowed," Lauren whispered, licking her lips with a smirk. "Just thought I'd let you know in case, you know, you thought you were special or anything."

"Of all the words, I would use to describe myself, 'special' would be one of the last," Bella said with a snort.

Inside, she was dying just a bit. She had hoped Edward truly liked her, but it appeared that he _liked _all kinds of girls. If she was just fresh meat to him, and every other guy in the restaurant, then the novelty would wear off soon.

"See if Esme will let me switch to the section by Edward, if you don't mind?" Lauren asked sweetly.

"I'll ask her the next time I see her, but I can't promise anything." Bella rolled her eyes internally as the girls walked away. She made a mental note to run away from either manager if she did happen to see them.

Jessica elbowed Lauren, and the blonde tossed her hair and laughed loudly. At that, Bella rolled her eyes outwardly and turned back to the podium, running right smack into a solid body. She closed her eyes reflexively and apologized, hoping it wouldn't be Edward there when she opened her eyes.

"Hey, Bella?" She looked up at the sound of her name and saw Mike rubbing the back of his neck.

He looked a little vulnerable, and it made her smile.

"What's up, Mike?" She reached for a stack of menus, figuring Esme wouldn't be upset that she was talking as long as she was actually doing something.

"You think I'm good looking, right?"

It was the last thing she expected out of Mike's mouth, and she dropped the handful of children's menus she'd just neatly stacked.

"You could be a model, Mike. You're gorgeous." As soon as she was done speaking, she bit her lip.

He'd been following her around the restaurant more and more over the past week, and Alice was certain he'd developed a crush on her. Too late, she realized that he might get the wrong idea from her words.

"I think you're beautiful, too, Bella," Mike said earnestly. He still rubbed the back of his neck furiously, and it started to turn red from the friction. "Why don't I want to date you?"

"Wha…?" Bella expelled her pent up breath in a rush.

Suddenly, she let out a bark of laughter and had to cover her mouth with both hands. This resulted in the children's menus hitting the floor once more.

"I mean..." Mike continued, moving his hand from his neck to the back of his head. Apparently, he had started to feel the burn, for his neck was now the color of persimmon. "Do you think I might be gay?"

"Are you serious right now, Mike?" Bella swallowed her laughter, just on the off chance that Mike was deadly serious.

"Yeah. You're the hottest girl I know and I don't wanna sleep with you. I must be gay, right?"

"Um, Mike. I'm not trying to make light of this at all. But the only person that can really answer that is you. I'm still here if you need to talk, but I can't tell you what your sexual orientation is, okay?"

"Yeah. I think I'm gay. Oh, God, Bella. What do I do now?" Mike looked pained.

"Well, do you have any tables right now?" Bella asked gently.

"Yeah. Two finishing up. Why?" He looked excited, like she might be ready to impart some serious knowledge on him.

"Right, then. You're going to go finish serving those tables just like you did before you spilled your guts to me. Then, we're going to close the restaurant down and skip O'Malley's tonight. We'll go to Mirabella's instead. They have some kick-ass martinis."

"Oh, thank God. I'm tired of pretending that I like beer. I'm glad I met you, Bella."

Esme had been very right about the busy rush after eight o'clock, and before Bella knew it, she was cutting the last group of servers. She left Lauren on the floor to close out of spite and then left the newest hostess, Bree, at the front to take care of any stragglers that might come in. She was more than ready to complete her sidework and get out for a martini with Mike.

Bella sighed deeply when she realized the only server in the back section of the restaurant was Jessica. She should have known she'd be stuck rolling silverware with Jessica; she was the one who cut her from the floor.

"Hey, Bella!" Jessica called, causing Bella's cheeks to flame. Several diners turned to watch her pass, and she wished that she could crawl into one of the plants lining the fake stucco walls.

Apparently, Jessica still labored under the delusion that she and Bella were best friends. That, or she would talk to a wall, if it were the only option available. Either way, the moment Bella sat down in the empty booth across from her Jessica started chatting.

"So Tyler really knows how to treat a girl. I'm pretty lucky that he asked me out instead of Lauren, because I know he's been looking at her. I don't know why he chose me, but I'm glad he did."

"You like him, huh?" Bella asked, noncommittally. She didn't really want to hear the answer. In fact, she would rather be anywhere else—cleaning the bathrooms, emptying the cigarette urns at the front doors, locked in the freezer, taking a bath in the deep fryer...

"I guess," Jessica said with a shrug. "I've never _actually _dated a guy that I liked _before _I went out with him. I always kinda learn to like him. Like, my first boyfriend was Jason Miller when I was thirteen. But I _actually _liked Jeremy Spain the whole time. I found out later that Jeremy liked me, too, but I had decided that I really liked Jason by that point and then Jason dumped me. And then I went with Chris Andrews my freshman year but I _really _liked Vincent Masters—"

"Vincent?" Bella suddenly snapped back to the conversation. Was Jessica giving her the rundown of her dating history or had she switched to the plot of the latest teen drama on television without Bella realizing it?

"Yeah... He was gorgeous, with black hair and blue eyes. Unrequited. Most of my crushes are."

Against her better judgment, Bella found herself speaking again. "So... If you don't like Tyler, who do you _really _like?"

"You can't say anything. I know you hang out with him a lot, so, you know... Just don't tell him." Jessica was leaning over the table by this time, voice low and eyes wide, as if she were about to reveal the identity of the shooter on the grassy knoll.

"Seriously, Jess. It's really not a big deal if you don't want to tell me." Bella looked down and realized she had already rolled well over half of the silverware while Jessica had managed three.

"Okay, okay. I'll tell you, jeez! I like Mike, okay? But you really can't say anything, Bella. I know he thinks you're, like, his best friend here and everything..."

"Oh... Jess..." Bella was torn between bursting into laughter and patting Jessica's hand in sympathy. "You can't be upset if... well, if he doesn't return your feelings, okay? I mean..."

She wondered for a moment why she was trying to soothe this flighty girl, but she shrugged and thought _Screw_ _it. Girls stick together._

"I know... the, uh, type he goes for, Jess. Please don't take it personally if that's not you, okay? It's really nothing against you."

"I knew he told you who he likes. I figured it was you for a long time because he's always with you, but I knew you wouldn't resist him if he asked you out, so you had to just be friends."

Bella bit the inside of lip as Jessica continued to completely ignore the trays of silverware in front of her. The slightly distraught girl kept talking.

"He's never mentioned me at all? I mean, ever? Does he at least think I'm pretty, even if I'm not really his type?"

"He does, Jess. He said he really likes your hair and thinks your fake Prada bag looks like the real thing," Bella said, ready to lose it at any second.

"I thought that was a good investment," Jessica said smugly. "Oh, my God. Edward has been cut, too. _That's _who I'd _really _like, if I thought I had a chance in Hell. Lauren said he really has a thing for blondes, though. I guess she'd know."

Bella looked up to see Edward leaning against the doorway and watching her with an indecipherable expression on his face. A slow grin spread across his features, rising slightly higher on the right side, and he crossed one leg over the other. Bella felt her cheeks begin to burn as he held her gaze, and she quickly crossed her legs against the sudden arousal coursing through her.

Jessica was studiously ignoring Edward and finally concentrating on the mound of black linens in front of her. Edward removed his serving apron and loosened his tie before approaching the table. Jessica cringed into the deepest corner of the booth, and Bella couldn't help but feel sorry for the girl. Apparently, Edward had that effect on everyone and not just Bella.

"I'll do your silverware for you, Jess. Tyler's getting ready to leave, too, and he was looking for you."

Bella gulped as he spoke, knowing she was about to be alone with him yet again.

"Thanks, E-Edward." Jessica clambered out of the booth and refused to meet his eyes as she raced past him.

"She must be pretty excited about her date," Edward chuckled as he settled himself across from Bella.

Her jaw dropped and she stared at him as if he had just sprouted a diamond in place of his head.

"Are you kidding?" she choked, laughing at his absurdity.

"She doesn't like him?" Edward asked, furrowing his brow in confusion.

"Not reall— No, but that's not why she—" Bella floundered for a moment before giving up entirely. She watched as he manipulated the linens around the knife and forks with precision, his long fingers deftly tucking the ends to produce a perfect roll.

"Why did she run like she was on fire, then?" he asked finally.

"What? Oh. Because you... She thinks you're beautiful," Bella blurted. "You have to know the effect you have on people."

Edward ceased his movements and propped his chin in hand. "What effect is that?" he wondered aloud and searched her face for the answer.

"Ahhh... You... Well, you..." Bella stopped for a moment and mentally slapped herself. "Well, case in point."

"I see," he murmured. "And I have this effect on you, as well?"

"Clearly," Bella snorted, before burying her face in her hands. She felt the heat radiating all the way through her fingers and prayed Edward couldn't see.

"Hey," he said softly, reaching out to gently pull her hands away. "Don't hide from me, beautiful."

The rush Bella felt the moment he touched her would have knocked her to her knees, if she had been standing.

"Jesus Christ, Edward," she murmured, leaning into his touch when he cupped her cheek in his palm.

"I'm not unaffected by you, Bella," he admitted, brushing his thumb gently over her lower lip.

She trembled and sucked her lip between her teeth defensively. Edward's eyes darkened when she lowered her head and glanced up at him through her lashes.

"And my last name is Masen."


	7. Back of the House

**Back of the House**

-The area of the restaurant that is not for the eyes of the guests-

Bella sighed and tossed her necktie onto the truck seat beside her. The evening shift had been particularly grueling and the last thing that she wanted to do was study, but with an exam the next day, she had no other choice.

"I should do my paper on working at this restaurant," she muttered aloud as she turned the key in the ignition.

Her truck roared to life just as a knock sounded on the window. Bella started, smacking her head on the roof of the cab and reflexively stomping on the accelerator. The ancient truck shook with effort as the engine let out a growl of frustration, and Bella felt her cheeks flood with heat. Even without looking, she knew exactly who had witnessed her embarrassment.

Sure enough, Edward grinned through the window, his eyes sparkling under the golden lights of the parking lot. Bella was lost for a moment in the depths, marveling at the way the overhead illumination changed the hue of his irises. She sat motionless for so long that Edward chuckled and mimed rolling down a window. She complied, even as she was rolling her eyes at her own ineptitude.

"You scared me," she accused, trying to cover the mortification. It didn't work, because he just smirked and leaned forward to rest his arms on the edge of the window.

"You're not going to O'Malley's?" he asked.

Bella licked her lips unconsciously as she watched his throat working with his words. Edward had loosened his tie and unbuttoned the top two buttons of his white shirt. The collar fell open, creating an arrow of sorts that seemed to point toward the Promised Land. Her eyes widened when she realized she was supposed to answer.

"Oh! Um, no. I can't tonight. I have a test tomorrow in my Social Psych class and I'm really behind." She shrugged to convey how sorry she was that she couldn't join him.

"That's too bad," Edward mused. He had been hoping to undo the damage from the last O'Malley's trip, when he had been so distracted by the guys that he had missed his chance to really talk to her.

"Believe me. I'd rather have a beer than read about 'human motivations' and all that crap, but I'll lose my scholarship if I can't keep my grades up."

"Mmmm, no... We couldn't have that," Edward murmured with a grin.

Bella felt her heart speed in response to the timbre of his voice. He had slipped into the caramel tones—the tones that seemed reserved just for her. Oh, and apparently Lauren.

"I work tomorrow, though," Bella said, biting back the irrational jealousy that had cropped up at the thought of Lauren and Edward in the wine cage. As far as places to have sex in a restaurant went, Bella supposed the wine cage had a bit more of a romantic feel to it. Sure as hell beat the dish room, anyway.

"I'm afraid that's just not soon enough." Edward sighed. "What would you say if I asked you to get some coffee and helped you study? Would it be possible to make that work?"

A light drizzle began to fall, and the droplets of water settled into Edward's hair like jewels in a crown. Bella stared once more when she was supposed to be talking.

"Bella?" Edward said, backing away from the truck slowly. "It's okay if you don't want to. You can say no. I understand how—"

"It's okay," Bella interrupted, finally finding her voice. "I think that would be alright. I mean, I really do need to study, but if you promise that we'll really be working, then..."

She trailed off, wondering if she had made the right decision. The very idea that she would be able to concentrate on a single word in her books with the perfection that was Edward sitting across the table from her seemed fairly ludicrous.

When Edward's face split into a breathtaking smile, Bella became convinced that she had, indeed, made a horrible decision. No coffee on Earth could possibly keep her from slipping into a daydream about dragging Edward into the wine cage on their next shift together.

_Or, hell... We could go somewhere infinitely more comfortable right now, _she thought and smacked herself in the forehead for even daring to dream.

"I'll just ride with you." Edward made his way around to the passenger side of her truck.

She frantically reached over and dragged her books and papers to the middle of the bench seat.

"I'm not normally this messy," she explained when he opened the door. "I was studying in the parking lot before I came in earlier."

"There's plenty of room," he assured her, stopping her movements with a soft touch to her wrist that sent jolts rushing straight down her spine. "Where are we headed?"

"Bongo Java?" Bella suggested, naming a coffeehouse that was a few streets over. "I can bring you back to your car when we're done."

Edward hummed in appreciation, but then the rest of the ride was spent in silence. Bella worried her bottom lip between her teeth, in no position to actually speak.

When they reached the little indie coffee shop, Edward jumped out of the truck and jogged around to open Bella's door before she could even get her papers and books stuffed back into her bag. He reached across her slowly and took the bag from her hands, smiling up into her shocked face as he did so.

Bella closed her eyes and just breathed, smiling at how he smelled good even through the marinara sauce and the Italian dressing. There was still an essence of Edward that permeated the oregano and garlic, and she leaned forward to bury her nose in his hair before she could even register what she was doing.

His hand softly grasped hers, and he tugged gently to help her down from the cab of the truck. She followed like a simpleton, figuring if he didn't already think her dim-witted, then he was never going to. He swept the door open and carried her bag to a table in the corner.

"I'm getting your coffee," he stated as he pulled her chair out for her.

Bella couldn't even find words to protest because she still remembered the smell of sandalwood and oregano; it was a smell that only Edward could pull off. In fact, she was still bewitched by it.

As he stood in line, Bella studied the small shop with a smile. It was obviously a haven for hippies, and she felt a little out of place in her buttoned and pressed uniform. The artwork on the walls was original, and price tags told her she could take home the stylized acrylic painting of a box of Parliaments for fifty bucks. Since she had a bit of a soft spot in her heart for the Parliaments, she actually considered making a random and ridiculous purchase for the wall over her foyer table.

Edward returned with a cinnamon latte, as per her request, and a black coffee for himself. True to his word, he wasted no time opening the texts and quizzing her for two solid hours. By the time he closed the books again, she felt confident she would pass the test.

"You're not a bad study partner," Bella said with a grin.

Edward waggled his eyebrows at her and winked, causing a rush of warmth that started in Bella's chest and ended at the juncture of her thighs. He was most certainly intimating that he wasn't just a good _study _partner, and he didn't have to say a word out loud for her to receive the message.

"My dad is a counselor. I'm not entirely ignorant about your subject matter. I had actually considered Psychology myself, but the piano is just much more interesting than the human mind." He frowned as he realized what he just said and then shrugged. "I guess that sounds weird, but it's true."

"You don't have to apologize for your preferences. There is nothing wrong with loving your chosen field. With those hands, I bet you're absolutely amazing," Bella gushed. Her cheeks immediately warmed, and she stared into her empty coffee mug in mortification.

"I'd love to play for you sometime," Edward said earnestly, choosing to ignore her accidental entendre rather than embarrass her further. He reached across the table and slipped a lock of hair behind her ear. "I really would, Bella."

She smiled up at him gratefully. "So tell me about Cornish."

Suddenly they were lost in conversation in which favorite classes led to favorite books, which lead to favorite movies. Bella was thrilled to feel that she finally knew a little something about Edward...Masen. With a grin, she also realized that she could finally call him by his full name in her mind.

"Edward Masen?" a voice called, echoing Bella's thoughts.

Both occupants of the table looked up, but then Bella slumped back down when she saw an absolutely flawless blonde heading in their direction.

"Kate," Edward said politely. "Bella, this is Kate. She's a Vocal Performance major at Cornish."

"Oh, Edward. So formal! We've spent hours in the practice rooms together. I would think you could introduce me as more than just a casual acquaintance," Kate said with a trilling laugh and a smirk in Bella's direction.

"Right. It's nice to meet you, Kate." Bella tried hard to keep the dejected tone from her voice. She shifted so that a brown curtain of hair shielded her expression as she began to pack her books back into her bag. "I have to go, Edward. My test is at nine in the morning."

"Oh." Edward stood quickly. "Sorry to run, Kate, but Bella is taking me back to my car. It was nice to see you, though."

"Don't be silly, Edward. I can take you back to your car. Stay and talk a while," Kate purred.

Bella was studiously ignored Edward, so she missed his piercing gaze. He stood torn for a moment, not wanting to be rude to Kate, but desperately wanting Bella to insist that he accompany her.

"I'm fine with that," Bella finally said when she had regained her composure. "Thanks again for the help, Edward. I'll see you tomorrow evening, I guess."

He opened his mouth again to protest, but Bella was already headed for the door, taking down several chairs and knocking several patrons in the head with her backpack on the way out.

By the time Bella walked through the doors of Hospitaliano the next evening, she was fairly confident in two things: she had passed her test, and she could resist Edward Masen's charms. When he walked in moments after she did, she was able to give him a small smile and a brief hello. When his face fell, she refused to feel bad about it. He was participating in wine cage and practice room trysts with icy blondes. She was obviously not his type, nor was she at his experience level. It would be better for her if she just forgot she had any feelings for him whatsoever.

"Hey, Bella," Mike said with a grin.

She felt herself smiling back genuinely in response. "Mike, I'm not doing O'Malley's tonight. Not even to save my life. Martinis at Mirabella's instead?"

Mike pulled her close and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "Perfect," he murmured. "Thank you, Bella... You know, for everything."

The night they had spent at Mirabella's had been truly entertaining. She hadn't seen Mike much since then, but the friendship that they had forged seemed to still be solid.

"You're welcome, babe," she assured him. "Anytime. Really. Starting with tonight."

Mike ruffled her hair before sauntering toward the computer to clock in, and suddenly the evening jolted into action. Rosalie was the lead host for the evening, so Bella spent most of her time avoiding host stand, leaving once for a break in the back to have a cigarette with Jake. She tried not to think about Edward's worshipful devotion to his own cancer stick when she heard the boys make their usual comments about her smoking form. As much as she wanted to see Edward enjoy another smoke, she was glad to make it back inside without running into him.

As if she knew Bella was avoiding Edward, Rosalie managed to handle the seating rotation so Bella never even ended up in his section. The night was drawing to a close and she hadn't seen him once since he had first walked through the door, and she wondered if her luck would hold out.

"That's it," Rosalie finally said, crossing Bella's name off the host list. "You're cut. Alice needed some help in the bar, so do what she needs and you can consider that your side work for the evening."

"Now why does _that _sound too good to be true?" Bella mumbled as she wandered into the bar area. "Ooh, Bella!" Alice said, waving over the bar with a 100-watt smile. Bella couldn't help but grin as she took in the crowded bar. The dining room was slowly dying, but the bar was just starting to get busy for the night.

"I need some help, babe. I'm out of Valpolicella."

"Um, sure. What's that?" Bella said, secretly wondering when the paper cone cups with mixed-drink test runs were going to appear.

"Well, the one we carry is a pretty shitty bottle that we sell for twenty bucks. You can get it at the liquor store behind us for just over five. Fortunately, this table has absolutely no taste, and they're prepared to drink the whole lot."

"So...what? I need to go to that store and get you a bottle?" Bella wondered, raising her eyebrows slightly. "Nope. Just get the key to the wine cage from Carlisle or Esme. I need four bottles."

Bella froze at the mention of the wine cage but then was spared from the pain of imagining Edward and Lauren there by the vision of dropping all four bottles of Valpolicella and having the money for it all deducted from her paycheck.

"Wine cage—four? Four bottles from…wine cage?" she stuttered, horrifying thoughts vying for the forefront of her brain.

Alice looked at her as if she might have lost her mind, so she stumbled quickly from the bar area in search of Carlisle or Esme.

Very carefully, she picked her way through the kitchen galley and the dish room, unaware that she was again being watched. As she walked, she looked around for some hint as to where the wine cage might actually be, but nothing appeared cage-like... or wine-like, for that matter.

The door to the office was shut, which surprised Bella. The door was always open; it was part of Carlisle's management strategy. Apparently, any employee could approach him at any time. She wondered if he was wandering around the restaurant and was just about to move away when she heard a crash come from behind the office door.

Her eyes widened, and she thought she might need to call for help in case someone was injured. Before she could open her mouth, though, a low, feminine moan escaped through the crack under the door and the scene shifted in Bella's mind with a massive _clunk._

She stepped back from the door quickly and collided with a solid form. Warm hands reached out to steady her by her shoulders, but a word was never spoken. The tingle between her legs told her immediately who was behind her, just as loud moans could be heard through the door. There was a muffled thump, and Bella was greeted with the mental image of her bosses shoving everything off the desk in the throes of their passion.

"Does it turn you on?" the caramel voice whispered in her ear.

She shivered a bit, but shook her head vehemently. "It's wrong. We shouldn't be listening to this."

"I know you feel it, Bella. I know you're excited, and it's natural." Edward stepped forward again so that she could feel every plane of his incredible chest against her back. "And believe me when I say that they are very much in love, Carlisle and Esme."

The sensual tones of Carlisle's murmur through the door caused Bella's skin to erupt in gooseflesh. She dropped her head back against Edward's shoulder, giving in to the sensation, if only for a moment. She felt his heart racing through the taut material of his shirt, his warm breath on the nape of her neck. Her tongue peeked out and touched the corner of her lips, which made him moan. The rumbling in his chest caused a tightening in hers.

"I love that you wear your hair up," Edward continued softly. "And I hate that you have to wear that shirt. I can see every last inch of your neck from here—" he trailed his index finger gently from the tender spot behind her ear down her neck to where the skin disappeared beneath the high white collar "—to here. I can only imagine the rest. Do you have any idea how beautiful you are, Bella?"

Bella did something she would be ashamed of for a very long time. She whimpered.

"Wine cage."

For a moment, she wasn't sure if she was reminding herself of Edward's tryst with Lauren, or if there was some other reason that the wine cage should cross her mind.

"What?" Edward backed away from her slowly.

"I need keys to the wine cage. Alice is waiting for me. Four bottles of Valley Cherra or something like that. And Carlisle has the key, and he's..." Bella let out a high-pitched giggle before clapping her hand over her mouth in mortification.

"Oh," Edward said, rubbing the back of his neck. With the magic of the moment broken, he didn't seem to know what to say. "I, um... I have a key. Come on."

Bella followed him meekly to the walk-in pantry. At the back was a gate that looked like a hurricane fence with a simple padlock keeping it closed. Edward fished a set of keys from his apron pocket and slipped it into the lock. When the gate was free, he ushered her through and into a tiny room lined with bottles of red wine. At the very back, a refrigerated unit housed several bottles of white. There was a distinct back alley feel to the space, and Bella found she was almost disappointed.

"This isn't romantic at all," she muttered, searching the shelves quickly for the bottles of wine that Alice had requested.

"Sorry?" Edward asked, his eyebrows shooting up unto his hairline. "Romantic? The wine cage? Or earlier? Oh, shit, Bella. I'm sor—"

"No, no. Earlier was..." Bella stopped for a moment and considered her words carefully. "Earlier was nice, Edward. I just meant... I thought it would be like a wine cellar, you know? Instead, it just looks like a really shady liquor store."

"Nice, huh?" Edward said, his features lightening considerably.

For just a moment, Bella thought he almost looked shy, but then the smile transformed into a smirk.

"I'll have to do better than that next time. Nice just isn't good enough for a girl like you. Valpolicella, right?"

Bella stared dumbly as he reached out and pulled down four bottles of wine before sauntering out of the wine cage. She didn't even move as the metal gate clanged shut behind him.

"Coming?" he called over his shoulder.


	8. Turn and Burn

**Turn and Burn**

-To complete a dinner service quickly so as to refill the table with more customers-

Alice watched Jasper with narrowed eyes. She usually trusted everything the boy did, but he was deep in conversation with Edward. And Edward was bright red. The clues, when added together, told Alice neither boy was up to any good. Edward threw back his head and laughed, which almost convinced Alice to break up the fun and find out just what was going on. Instead, she focused on making the Coladatini she had created for the bar. If she had any chance of convincing Carlisle to add it to the menu, then she had to make sure that it was just right.

"Edward," she called with a mischievous grin. "I need a taste tester."

Jasper tossed his head to indicate that Edward should listen, so the conversation effectively ended. Alice grinned triumphantly and held out the paper cone with the mixture.

"Secrets don't keep friends, Edward," she teased, somehow knowing that the subject of their little talk was Bella.

"It's delicious, Alice." Edward deftly skirted the subject.

She clapped her hands and poured another cup for Jasper with the rest of the drink from the shaker. He tossed it back and grinned.

"Another winner, doll. That should be your third this month, right? They'll have you writing the full drink menu in no time."

Alice caught sight of Bella and waved her into the room. It did not escape her notice that the girl stood at the other side of the bar, as far from Edward as she could possibly get.

"I made a new one, Bella. Let me mix it for you. You'll love it!"

Bella dipped her head in acknowledgment and waited for Alice to mix all the ingredients. A tense silence filled the room, punctuated only by the sound of ice scraping stainless steel.

Alice studiously poured the Coladatini into another paper cup, while Jasper was trying to communicate something to Edward with only his eyes. Bella, still on her own at the other end of the room, avoided everyone's gaze.

"We're going to be smashed before we even open." Jasper broke the tension.

"Only way to get through this day." Bella cracked a grin.

She still refused to look at Edward, which made him wonder just what had happened since the conversation in the wine cage. They hadn't worked together for three days, but he thought they had left on fairly good terms. He'd even decided that he would ask for a real date, and not just a study session in a coffee shop.

Alice thrust the paper cup into Edward's hands and nodded her head toward Bella. He grinned and sauntered around the bar until he stood right in front of her. When she looked up and saw he was only inches from her, she backed away quickly.

"It really is delicious," Edward murmured, offering the drink carefully. When she reached out to take it from him, he laid his free hand over hers gently. "I'd like to see you, Bella."

With his thumb caressing the top of her hand, he pulled her closer to him, until she was only a breath away. "I don't mean just here at work, either. I'd like to buy you dinner that doesn't include ricotta cheese and cheap table wine. I want to talk to you about things that don't include line cooks and smoke breaks. More than anything, Bella, I want to know if your lips are as soft as they look, and I can't find out here."

She gasped and closed her fingers over the paper cone, nearly crushing it.

"I heard you...had company this week," she mumbled, pulling her hands from his grasp. "I imagine you're busy right now."

With that, she tossed her head back and poured the Coladatini down her throat. "Christ, Alice, that's amazing. If you decide to make more, it looks like I'm going to need them today."

Jasper's jaw dropped and Alice let out a snort, while Edward grasped empty air where Bella had once stood. "What. The. Hell?" he growled. "How does she know Tanya is here?"

oOo

With a bemused smile, Rosalie watched the new girl grab four menus and tersely greet the family standing by the door. No one could find fault with Bella's smile. Her words were polite and her demeanor welcoming, but Rosalie knew the real Bella was under lock and key somewhere. Surprisingly, she was impressed Bella was able to continue doing her job, in spite of whatever was bothering her.

"You need a break?" Rosalie ventured, when Bella returned.

The slender brunette blushed, just as Rosalie expected. But then, Bella's lips pressed into a firm line and she shook her head. "I'm fine, thanks. I just want to get through my shift and get the hell out of here."

With a sigh, she then grabbed another handful of menus and strode toward the front door to meet another group of guests. Rosalie watched in awe as the girl managed to make her way from point A to point B and back again without once slipping on the tile or catching her shoe on the carpet. Whatever had Bella worked up had done wonders for her coordination.

Rosalie had only just managed to complete her thought when Bella's elbow caught the basket of silverware and send them crashing to the floor.

"Well, shit," Rosalie muttered.

Under normal circumstances, she would rail against Bella for causing more work for everyone, because they could not use silverware that had touched the floor. Tears sparkled at the corners of Bella's eyes, though, and Rosalie knew she had to bite her tongue.

"Yeah," Rosalie finally said, as soon as she managed to get her temper back in check. "Time for a break. Angela can handle it for a few minutes."

Bella stared for a moment before turning toward the kitchen and stalking purposefully for the door. Rosalie signaled Esme and Angela before following. If nothing else, Bella might need someone to help her through the slippery dish room in her condition.

To her surprise, Bella had already made it to the back door and was waiting for Emmett to unlock the door for her. He made a move to muss Bella's hair but received a sharp glare for his efforts, so he pulled his hand back quickly.

"Is she okay?" he asked, as soon as he saw Rosalie.

"I'll see if I can find out," was her short response.

Emmett new better than to mess with her hair, so he just gave her a quick kiss to the cheek and left the girls alone.

Rosalie heard the door lock behind her and knew she could count on Emmett to disappear for a while so no one else could join them. Bella was already pulling steadily on a cigarette and blinking back the tears she'd been fighting all morning.

"Spill," Rosalie said, without preamble.

"As much as I would love to rant about my problems, Rosalie, why the hell do you imagine I would choose you as my understanding ear?" Bella exhaled a plume of smoke.

With her mouth hanging open, Rosalie gaped for several seconds before laughter bubbled up and over.

"Obviously, I'm not terribly friendly. I guess you could unload on someone that doesn't have a gazillion people waiting to hear the gossip. Besides," she paused and shrugged, "I actually quite like you."

"It's just a stupid boy, Rosalie. A stupid boy that acted like he liked me but was sleeping with every other girl the whole time."

With that, the tears spilled over and coursed down her flushed cheeks.

Rosalie, who hadn't expected to receive a confession so easily, stepped forward and awkwardly patted Bella on the shoulder.

"You're too sweet, really," she offered. "I mean, have you made him work for anything? Do you tease him right back? My guess is that you stand there with those big, brown eyes and eat up every last word, am I right?"

Bella dropped her cigarette into the urn and quickly lit another one. Her fingers trembled as she contemplated the veracity of Rosalie's words. Every time Edward was in her presence, she became a stuttering pile of goo. In fact, with Rosalie's wake-up call, Bella could imagine the look that must have graced her face every time he spoke.

"It's possible," she muttered around the cigarette between her lips. "I mean... how am I supposed to even _think _when he's around, much less form my own flirtatious sentences?"

"Are you talking about Edward?" Rosalie suddenly asked.

Bella didn't even need to respond because her immediate flush spoke volumes.

"Ridiculous, right?" Bella said. "I know he's way out of my league, but... I guess I just really thought he liked me."

Rosalie threw her head back and laughed until she had to hold her stomach for support. "Edward? Oh, my God. I'm sorry, but... Yeah, I guess he's nice looking, but... I never would have placed him outside your league, Bella. Never. Oh, God."

A sigh escaped Bella's lips, and another plume of smoke along with it. "He is...sex. He is sex personified. He has the ability to chew me up and spit me out. And I would just come back for more, because I apparently have no sense of self preservation."

"I'm having trouble picturing this," Rosalie giggled. "I guess he's always just been...Edward to me. Sex personified!"

Another indelicate snort escaped, and even Bella had a hard time keeping a straight face.

"So you like him, then?" Rosalie managed to say through her giggles.

"Well, I did. But he's apparently a fan of taking Lauren to the wine cage, and Kate in the practice rooms, and now Tanya...well, everywhere, I guess. Lauren enjoyed telling me that, let me tell you."

"Tanya's back?" Rosalie asked in surprise.

Bella's shoulders slumped and she nodded miserably. "I thought maybe I had just misunderstood. That even if he had done something with Lauren and Kate at some point that it was possible that he liked me now. But..."

"Yeah, he and Tanya were pretty tight," Rosalie said with a frown.

"Which doesn't at all explain why he would ask me out today, right? I mean, if his girlfriend is visiting... What guy does that?"

Rosalie stared at the door for a moment, thinking. She knew Tanya and Edward had been close before Tanya decided to transfer to Georgetown. She'd been a part of the usual group that ended the night at O'Malley's after closing, and Rosalie had to admit that there had been some flirtation between the two, but nothing had seemed too serious. The thought of Tanya staying with Edward for any reason, even a completely innocent one, just didn't sit right with Rosalie at all.

"Well, if you want my opinion..." Rosalie ventured, an evil smile tipping her lips.

"Sure. I've got nothing else," Bella sighed.

"Just give him a taste of his own medicine," Rosalie said with a shrug. "I mean, you're pissed at him now, so that should make it easier. You'll be able to think clearly when he's around, which means that you can stop staring at him like you're about to bow down and worship. Say suggestive things that make him think he's about to get what he wants and then just walk away."

"You think that will work?" Bella asked, her mind already racing with possibilities.

"I'm not saying that you'll win your great love in the end or anything, Bella. But at least you'll be able to keep a bit of your pride and self-esteem, right? If nothing else, you'll keep him awake at night."

A slow smile crept across Bella's face, and she giggled. "It's about time someone else lost a little sleep."

Just then, the door swung open and Edward rushed outside. Emmett stood in the doorway, throwing a beseeching look to Rosalie. She grinned and winked, letting him know his timing was perfect.

"Take your time, Bella. I've got you covered," she said, giving another awkward pat to Bella's shoulder. Without a single glance at Edward, she glided back through the door and into Emmett's arms. Before completely leaving Bella behind, she pushed a doorstop into place so that there would be an escape route if necessary.

A smirk crossed Bella's lips as Edward kicked over a milk crate and collapsed onto it. When he pulled out a Marlboro and lit it, her knees gave a bit, but she straightened her spine and renewed her careless expression.

"Are you okay?" he asked, after a moment of silence.

"Peachy," she replied, wetting her bottom lip with a slow swipe of her tongue. "You?"

Edward blinked three times before answering. "Um... Yeah. I'm all right. It's kind of slow today, so we should get out of here soon."

Bella shrugged and shook her head. "I'm a double today. Quick lunch break and I'm back at it. It will be good for you to get off early, though, right?"

"Why?" Edward asked, a puzzled frown creasing his brow. "Oh! Because of… Yeah, Bella. That's not quite—"

Bella cut him off when she kicked another milk crate over so that she could sit, as well. He was so startled by her sudden movement that he forgot to finish his thought. When she reached over and placed her hand on his knee, every other thought in his head fled, as well.

"Everything is just fine, Edward," she purred. Carefully, she picked up the hand that was not holding his cigarette, and she trailed her thumb and forefinger down the longest digit. The imagery was obvious, and she couldn't help but grin.

"Your fingers are so long," she whispered. Her caress trailed back up to the tip, and she almost laughed when he shuddered. "I can only imagine just how talented they are, Edward. Maybe some day you'll show me?"

"I, uh... I guess I could. I would love to play for you, Bella," Edward stuttered, his eyes widening in panic.

Bella stood and flipped her cigarette into the urn by the door. "Oh, Edward. I'd love to hear you play, but that's not quite what I meant."

His jaw dropped as she lowered her eyes to his hands once more. He still hadn't composed himself when she opened the door, so she tossed her ponytail over her shoulder and smirked.

"You coming?" she whispered.


	9. Push

**Push**

-Sell it-

Lauren watched the stupid, mousy Bella flirt with Edward and clenched her teeth in irritation. The coasters in her hand hit the table with a slap, and she smiled a thin smile at the couple that was waiting expectantly. They held hands across the table, which would be just entirely too adorable to anyone else. For Lauren, though, who had had her eye on Edward for over a year, the happy couple was just one more thorn in her already tender side.

When Edward had started working at Hospitaliano, no one really thought he was all that special. In fact, it was Tanya's acceptance of him that had opened the doors to the _in crowd, _if there could actually be an in crowd outside of high school. The statuesque blonde had invited Edward along to every after-closing get together at O'Malley's, every party, and even to daytime events on the weekends.

For ages, Tanya was the only person who'd talked to Edward, but he'd eventually opened up to the dumb kitchen manager, Emmett, and the hot bartender, Jasper. The three boys had become inseparable, and the rest of the girls on the staff had begun to take notice of the tall, slightly awkward boy with the red-gold hair. The more friends he made, the less awkward he appeared, until one day, he emerged a sex god with comfortable posture and a list of girls waiting to talk to him.

Bella the mousy hostess was the latest on that list, but there was something a bit different about her. Lauren couldn't put her finger on the exact difference, but it seemed to revolve around the fact that, for once, Edward wanted to talk back. He'd never been much for words, unless he was chatting with his boys or Tanya, but it looked like he couldn't get enough of the plain Jane Bella.

"Can I get some drinks for you?" Lauren worked hard to turn on the charm.

The couple at her table was entirely too wrapped up in each other to notice her immense effort.

"Water," the guy said.

"Same," the girl said.

_Damn water, _Lauren thought, flashing her sweetest smile. They would probably share an entrée and end up with a bill for less than twenty dollars. _Three dollar tip, coming right up._

Just to be spiteful, she dropped the lemons directly into the glass, instead of perching them on the edge as she was supposed to. Edward was pouring drinks for his own table, so she took a moment to smile flirtatiously at him. The color in his cheeks was high as he turned away, and she wondered just what she'd have to do to get him back in the wine cage before the night was out. No one checked the wine cage.

Back at her table, she set the glasses of water down with a saccharine smile. "Have I given you enough time to choose?"

"Yeah. We're going to share the shrimp and crab ravioli, please. And could we get an extra bowl so we can share the salad?" the guy asked.

His date smiled up at Lauren prettily, as if she thought being nice would get her what she wanted.

"Well." Lauren put on a mask of doubt. "I'm not really supposed to do that, but I'll sneak one out for you."

"Great! Thanks so much," the girl simpered, catching her date's hand across the table.

_Just remember me later, _Lauren thought snidely.

As she put her order into the POS, she spotted Edward again out of the corner of her eye. He was headed toward the back door, which meant he was taking a quick smoke break. Lauren had never smoked a day in her life, but she seriously considered taking up the habit, just to get outside with him for ten minutes.

"Jess!" she called as her friend walked by with a tray of food. "Can you just keep an eye on my tables and let me know if I get a new one? I'm going to step out back."

"Whatever," Jessica said, rolling her eyes.

Jessica actually had half a mind to talk Bella into seating all of Lauren's tables at once and then leaving Lauren to flounder when she came back to four tables of angry customers.

"You're the best!" Lauren said, pushing through the doors into the kitchen.

She spotted Tyler as she was searching for Emmett to unlock the door, and she couldn't help sending him a flirtatious smile, too. He'd been second on her list until Jessica had snaked him right out from under her nose. The way he smiled back, she was pretty sure that she could make that work, after all, but she had a mission.

"What are you talking about, Lauren? You don't smoke." Emmett laughed when she posed her request.

"I do!" she insisted. "Just open the damn door!"

"Right. This should be good."

He propped the door open and immediately chuckled again at the look of horror on Edward's face. Lauren sauntered outside and plopped down onto the milk crate closest to Edward before taking the cigarette from his fingers and drawing a mouthful of smoke.

"Hold that door," Edward said, bolting from his seat. He didn't even turn when Lauren started choking on the smoke but instead rushed past Emmett.

With a shrug at the lone girl, Emmett let the door swing shut.

"Lock it," Edward said, shuddering.

"Dude, I can't leave her out there by herself!" Emmett chuckled. "What's the deal with her, anyway?"

"I'm thinking a restraining order is the only way to fix that situation," Edward said with sigh.

"Tanya still here?" Emmett asked as they made their way through the dish room to the kitchen.

"She's gone on to Alaska," Edward informed him. "Her aunt passed away last week and the whole family is on the way to some tiny-ass town called Healy. She was just here for the night because the plane for Anchorage wasn't until the next morning."

"You may have screwed up pretty badly with that little visit." Emmett gave Edward a pointed look. "If you like one girl, you can't have another sleeping over, dumbass."

"I'm not so sure," Edward said with a smile. "She's been seriously flirting with me all week. Maybe it made her jealous?"

"Oh, you stupid, stupid man." Emmett clapped his friend on the back. "You really think she's flirting with you?"

"Well, yeah." Edward frowned at the question. "Haven't you seen her? Licking her lips, touching me whenever she's nearby, winking from across the room?"

Emmett was shaking his head in amusement. "You really have no clue. She's going to torture you. If you think you're getting closer to sleeping with Bella, you're sadly mistaken. She's going to make you suffer for a long, long, long time. And you're going to love every second of it. Right up until she tells you she's got a date with someone else."

Edward was silent for several minutes as he processed the new possibility. There had been a new spark to her eyes whenever she spoke to him. At times, he'd even wondered if she was still angry with him, but then she would smile her beautiful smile and his doubts flew away.

"You better step up your game, man," Emmett advised. "Make her tremble a bit. Try to keep down the innuendoes and instead go for some of Jasper's smooth shit. He's got Alice all tied up. He swears he's genuine, and I guess that's all well and good. Whatever he says to her, it seems to work. It wouldn't hurt to ask her out again. Even if you invite her to the party at Rose's this weekend."

"A party, Em? Really?" Edward shook his head incredulously.

"Yeah. Loosen her up with a few beers, stick by her through the whole thing, talk to her about stuff that doesn't involve tips and cleaning bathrooms. You know. Woo her."

"Woo her? Who are you and what have you done with Emmett?" Edward laughed.

"Hey, I can woo! Do you think I keep Rosie around by being a crude bastard all the time?" Emmett laughed. "I can be smooth, too. Just not as smooth as Jasper. Try his tricks this time."

The boys reached the front of the kitchen and Emmett started grabbing plates to set on a tray. Edward waited until he had finished the garnishes and then shouldered the food.

"Seriously, man. Step it up," Emmett called after him as he sauntered through the side door into the dining room.

The moment he had dropped the plate at Lauren's table, he set off in search of Bella. She was laughing with Mike at the host stand, and Edward felt his blood pressure start to rise. With a glance at his lone table to make sure they had plenty to eat and drink, he set off for the front lobby.

"I'd love to go," Bella said as he approached.

Mike wrapped an arm around her and squeezed, which caused a bona fide growl to build in Edward's chest.

"Where are you headed?" he asked lightly, causing Bella and Mike to jump apart and giggle.

"Rose's party this weekend," Bella said, smiling knowingly. She winked at Mike as he was walking away and he reached back to pinch her cheek playfully.

"Hot date?" Edward asked, trying to keep his tone as neutral as possible.

Bella made a sound in her nose that sounded like a snort. "Something like that?"

The question in her tone caused Edward's eyes to narrow.

"I see. Is he your type, you think?" He held his breath as he waited for her answer.

She looked at him thoughtfully, biting the corner of her lip as she contemplated just how much she should push. She could see that Edward was keeping himself in check, and she longed to force his shell to crack.

"I'm not sure what my type is, Edward," she finally admitted. "But he's nice and he'll make sure I'm comfortable on Saturday. Comfort is good, you know?"

Before he could answer, she turned her back to greet a family coming through the front doors. He could see they were a playful bunch, which usually translated to good tips. He wondered if there was some way to communicate that he would love to have that table.

She winked as she led the large group past him, and he felt his blood surge just. Then, he laughed as she traipsed straight to one of his tables and began placing menus. With a final glance at him from beneath her lashes, she left the table alone so he could greet them.

When he had completed their drink and food orders, he found Bella standing by the host stand again, coloring yet another children's menu. She didn't even look up as he approached, so he grabbed his own crayon and menu to create a masterpiece for Esme's office wall.

"Tanya is a good friend, Bella," he began seriously.

"That's what I've heard," she responded, still refusing to look away from the word search puzzle. "Do you see _fettuccine _in here anywhere?"

He dropped a long finger onto the paper, guiding her eyes to the hidden word. Without a word, she brushed his hand away and circled it before crossing it off the list. With a deep breath, he decided to try again.

"We knew each other in high school." The words were stilted and unsure, as if he were reading them from a page.

"Supremely unconcerned," Bella remarked. "You have no reason to answer to me, you know."

"Reason or not, I want to," Edward said, emotion heating his words. "You're special, and I think you know that, deep down. You're not every other girl, Bella."

Slowly, she lifted her head out of her coloring page and looked him directly in the eye. "You're going to have to prove that to me, I'm afraid."

Edward's heart leapt. It was a chance. "I would love to. I know you're going with Mike to the party on Saturday—"

"Just planning to see him there," Bella interrupted, causing Edward's leaping heart to break into song.

"I'm not asking you to ditch him. I mean, he's your date, after all, right?"

Bella snorted again, but she wouldn't meet his eyes anymore. When she couldn't think of an appropriate answer, she just shrugged.

"I'm just asking you to save a moment or two for me, Bella. Talk to me outside of work just one more time. See me away from these crazy people and talk to me about your classes and your family and your friends. I want to know you, Bella. I want to hear every last thing that you want to tell me. And if you decide after the party that I'm still not worth a shot, I'll leave you alone."

At the mention of him leaving her alone, Bella raised her eyes in panic. She didn't want that at all. She just wanted to know that he didn't intend for her to be a quick lay before she let him lead her to the bedroom. His words sounded pretty, but she didn't know just how much she could trust them.

She nodded reluctantly as he backed away. As soon as he turned the corner into the kitchen, she stepped through the doorway into the bar. Alice grinned from ear to ear, and Bella knew that her friend had heard every word.

"I think he's serious, Bella," Alice said, as she dropped several glasses into the sink.

"Pretty talk," Bella said, waving it off with a half-grin. "Did I tell you that I'm thinking about doing my thesis on this restaurant? Do you know how many masks are on right now? No one is ever real in a restaurant, have you noticed? Lauren gets better tips than anyone else that works here, and she's the biggest bitch on staff. It's amazing."

"It might not be a mask, Bella," Alice prodded gently.

"Lauren? Of course it is." Bella would be the first to admit that she had deliberately misunderstood Alice's remark, but she wasn't quite ready to let Edward in. Not after the many different sides to him that she had already seen.

"Well." Alice scrunched up her nose in concentration. "Try this drink instead of worrying. I have a feeling it will all work out just fine, but you've gotta be willing to give a little."

Bella sipped the vanilla and orange concoction that Alice informed her was called Dreamsicletini. There was no doubt that it tasted just like a Dreamsicle, and it left her longing for a childhood when life was so much easier. Dealing with boys was as easy as kicking them in the shins and running away.

In fact, with the liquid courage, she considered doing the very same to Edward at that moment. She could just seek him out in the kitchen, kick him, and then he'd know exactly how she felt. With that idea in mind, she smiled wryly and waved at Alice.

"Where are you going?" Alice caught the mischievous look in Bella's eye.

"To kick someone. Hard."

Edward was having his third cigarette of the night when Bella found him. She kicked over the milk crate next to him and sat gingerly. He took out a lighter and lit her smoke before she could ask.

"I was going to kick you," she stated plainly, causing his eyes to widen in shock.

"But then I decided that I would just tell you I'll go with you to Rosalie's party. I'm just telling you up front, though. I'm not like your other girls, Edward. I won't settle for a quick rattle of the wine cage or a tryst on the piano in a practice room. If that's what you want, I'll go get Lauren for you. And, so help me God, if this Tanya chick is still in the picture, I will not hesitate to kick your ass."

"Fair enough," Edward conceded, blowing out a steady stream of smoke.

He glanced at Bella from the corner of his eye and smiled when he saw her gaze locked on his lips. He was tempted to play with her just a bit, but he didn't want to ruin any of the progress that they'd made.

They sat together in companionable silence, worshipping their respective cigarettes. Edward wondered if he should try once more to explain the whole Tanya debacle, while Bella wondered if she'd remembered to feed Zep that afternoon before she left for work.

"What are you thinking about?" Edward asked, as he dropped his spent cigarette in the urn outside the door.

"My kitty," Bella said absently, smoothing her ponytail.

Edward sucked in a gasp of air, immediately feeling the rush of blood to his groin at her statement. With burning cheeks, he realized he had entirely misunderstood, but the damage was done. The vixen had trumped him again, and she hadn't even been trying.


	10. Upsell

**Upsell **

**-To suggest a higher priced item-**

Rosalie lived in a quaint little house on a quiet street, but it wasn't terribly quiet on that particular night. Instead, music could be heard at the intersection at the end of the street where Edward waited at a red light. Bella was finally beside him, and she'd agreed to be his date for the evening. He wanted to feel bad for Mike, but he just couldn't sympathize with his competition. Knowing he had snaked the poor guy's date out from under him didn't make Edward feel guilty at all. Instead, he was on edge and ready for whatever might happen.

Bella, on the other hand, kicked herself for giving in so quickly. She knew Rosalie would smirk at her weakness, but Edward had seemed so earnest when he'd asked her to accompany him. As much as she wanted to continue teasing him, she'd decided it was actually _do or die _time. If he proved he could behave himself at the party and didn't expect her to act like the girls in his past, then she thought perhaps there was a chance.

As confused as she was, she couldn't help the smile that crossed her features when he leaped out of the car and jogged to the passenger side to let her out. As he passed in front of the headlights, she took a moment to study the jeans that hung low on his hips and the black t-shirt that hugged his solid chest. However irritating the boy might have been, he was even more beautiful than she'd first believed.

"Ready?" he asked, taking in her form-fitting jeans and red silky top.

Just the sight of her made him feel light-headed, but he knew he had no more chances. With his gaze firmly above her neckline, he offered his hand to help her from the car.

The moment they entered the house, the song playing ended and a painful moment of dead air descended. Everyone who paused in the middle of conversation or dancing and looked to see who'd just joined the party. Bella fought against the heat rising up her neck at the attention, but Edward tugged her hand and pulled her through the front room and away from the prying gazes.

"You've gotta be _kidding _me," Bella heard Lauren hiss as they passed, and she couldn't help but grin. If nothing else happened at the party, Bella had finally gotten one up on the bitch, and that meant the whole night was a success.

As they passed through the kitchen, Edward caught sight of Mike, who was talking to a guy that didn't work at _Hospitaliano. _When Mike saw them, he grinned widely and waved, sending a wink just for Bella when he saw that Edward had her hand clasped tightly.

"He doesn't look too torn up about losing his date," Edward muttered as soon as they were outside and could hear each other again.

Bella laughed and pointed to two lawn chairs at the back corner of the yard. "That's because I was never actually his date. You just assumed. Mike is gay."

At that announcement, Edward stopped still and stared at her.

"Are you serious?" he demanded, a smile creeping over his face. "You let me think-"

"Don't make a big deal of it," Bella hissed, smacking his arm. "He'd probably prefer to keep it quiet for now while he's figuring it all out. And of _course _I let you think whatever you wanted to think about it. You have all these girls in your past and I..."

By the time she trailed off, the two had reached the chairs and sat abruptly. Edward let go of her hand and scrubbed his face roughly. Of course she wanted to talk about the girls. He didn't know how to even begin the conversation, but it had to be done.

"Look. To make you understand, I have to go all the way back to high school," he said.

"You don't need to explain," Bella said lightly. "We can just start from right here. I can start here if you can."

Slowly, Edward reached for her hand and tugged her into his lap. The chair creaked under their combined weight but held true. The moment she was seated, he realized his mistake. There was no way that he could hold Bella Swan in his arms and keep his raging hormones in check.

Bella came to the same realization as she placed her hand on his muscled chest. The worn cotton felt absolutely delicious under her fingertips and she longed to press her cheek against it.

"It's only fair," Edward said, his voice strained with the effort of keeping the surging blood in his body from forming a very uncomfortable situation in his jeans.

"Tanya was one of my best friends in high school. I don't know why, exactly, except that her parents and my parents have always been good friends. I was, for lack of a better word, a geek. I was an honor student, I played the piano, and I once walked around with an erection for a good hour because this Italian exchange student named Gianna said my name with her Italian accent. I had no idea how to talk to anyone, much less girls."

The picture that he painted was so different from the one with which Bella was acquainted. Immediately, though, she could sympathize with a younger, skinnier Edward that lacked social graces. He didn't sound as though he had been terribly different than she'd been.

Without warning, she felt her heart melt a little and realized maybe she wouldn't have been able to start from that moment in time. The back-story that he gave opened her eyes immensely. She didn't even realize it when her fingers began to trace lazy circles on his chest, but she did giggle when he adjusted himself in the chair.

"Tanya was popular, of course, but she didn't care that no one else talked to me. She always treated me like I was anyone else in her group of friends. And when I started work at _Hospitaliano _she drew me in with her new friends there. I got better about talking to people, but nothing _ever _happened with her. She's too much like my sister to even... ugh."

Bella smiled softly at his admission, utterly charmed by the shy, geeky kid he'd once been. Suddenly, she leaned forward and pressed a small kiss to his cheek.

Edward didn't even try to hide his reaction to her affection. With a groan, he finally gave in to the sensation coursing through him and accepted that another embarrassing erection was on the way. His arms wrapped around her slender frame and pulled her closer, and he wondered if he had the courage to use his own lips.

She was staring at his mouth, panting slightly when she felt the evidence of his arousal on the back of her leg. He wanted her; she was certain. His eyes, however, were still clouded with doubt. She knew if anything was going to happen to move them forward, it was up to her.

Her hand moved slowly from the soft T-shirt to the crook of his neck, and she bit back a grin when he gasped. Fingers teased the soft hair that she found there, and he let out a small moan. His gaze met hers, and she was thrown by the stormy desire she saw. In that one moment, she no longer cared at all who Edward had in his past. All she knew was that she wanted to be his _now._

As much as he wanted to go slowly and show her just how important she was to him, he couldn't stop himself the moment their lips met. Instead of gently caressing her with all of the feelings he had, he lost control. His hands cradled her face gently, in direct contrast to the absolute passion that he released when her tongue touched his for the first time.

Quickly, she rearranged herself so that she was straddling him in the chair. Again, the flimsy metal and plastic squeaked and creaked, but neither heard over the blood rushing through their veins. One arm drifted to her waist so that he could pull her even closer, and she happily obliged.

His lips... His lips were even softer and more demanding than she could ever have hoped. There was nothing graceful about the kiss, but it was still the absolute most heavenly experience of Bella's life. With a whimper, she pressed closer, delighting in the growl that erupted from his throat.

Hips met hips, both thrusting and gasping, trying as hard as they could to get the friction that they desired, when Edward suddenly ripped his lips from hers with a tiny cry of frustration.

"What's wrong?" Bella whispered, her breath escaping her in ragged gasps. She tried to continue placing tiny kisses on his jaw and neck, but he moved away with a sigh.

"I have no idea what I'm doing," he finally admitted.

Ice seeped through her veins, quickly cooling the heated lust from just moments before. Was he actually trying to tell her that he didn't know what he was doing with her?

"What do you mean?" she asked coolly. "You obviously know what you're doing, so I can only guess that you don't know what you're doing with _me. _Changed your mind that quickly, did you?"

Struggling to disentangle herself, she pressed against his chest fruitlessly. He still had his arms around her waist and refused to let go. Looking anywhere but his face, she continued to back away from him as much as she could.

"Stop, Bella," he pleaded quietly. "Let me explain, please?"

"Oh, please. It's been up and down, hot and cold since the moment I saw you. You didn't talk to me for a whole week and then you came onto me shamelessly. What am I supposed to think? Just when I think that you like me, I see another girl who seems to think you like her, too. Honestly, Edward... I just can't do this. I really like you and—"

"I'm a virgin, Bella," he interrupted quietly.

That shut her up immediately. His innuendo-laced comments, the heat that he could bring with just a gaze, Lauren's comments about the wine cage—none of it added up at all.

"Bullshit," she finally said, but her heart wasn't in it.

Edward's lips curved into a half-smile. "Not bullshit, I'm afraid. I've always been that geek from high school. I didn't even know how to talk to any girl besides Tanya until I met Alice. Well, basically, I don't even talk to Alice. She takes care of that part. I, uh... I took lessons from Emmett and Jasper on how to talk to you. I've been kind of...crazy about you since I saw you that day in the kitchen."

"But...but _Kate." _She spat the name. "And _Lauren _for Christ's sake! Are you really going to tell me that you didn't share special moments in a practice room or the wine cage?"

"Kate is the biggest diva-bitch at Cornish, and I wish I'd never been chosen as her accompanist," Edward sighed. "She's a ridiculous flirt that seems to think we're made for each other. She's never been too bad, though. Not like Lauren... Jesus. I think I'm going to need a restraining order, in all honesty. "

Bella had ceased her struggles and sat forward on his lap again. He sensed she was finally listening and knew he had to get the rest of the story out or they could never have a _now, _much less a future.

"About two months before you started, Lauren cornered me in the wine cage."

Bella winced, sure that she knew what was coming.

"I tried to be polite, Bella, I swear, but it only encouraged her. She shoved her hand down my pants and was trying to force a hand job on me. I shit you not. I ran and slammed the cage door behind me. She was actually locked in for about thirty minutes while I talked to Carlisle."

"You should have pressed charges!" Bella exclaimed. "That's... oh, my God, Edward!"

Everything finally made sense. Her sex god was really just a shy boy who couldn't help the crazies that fixated on him, herself included.

"Carlisle said that, too. I decided I'd just leave it alone, as long as she couldn't come near me at work. So far, she's not tried anything outside of work, but I wouldn't...you know."

"So what makes me so special?" Bella asked, trying desperately to set herself apart from the other girls.

A slow smile crept across Edward's lips, causing Bella's heart to flutter once more. With a trembling hand, he pushed her hair away from her shoulder, exposing the long line of her neck. Before he could lose his nerve, he pressed his lips gently to the spot just below her ear and then murmured in a low voice that shook her to her very core.

"Everything."

At that exact moment, the chair finally gave up the fight and collapsed. The couple hit the ground with surprised shouts before breaking into uncontrollable giggles. Bella was pressed tightly against Edward's chest, and except for the sharp metal frame poking his back, he'd never felt anything so amazing in his life.

"We can learn together, you know," Bella whispered, reaching up to stroke his hair softly.

Instead of answering, Edward rolled over and shoved the destroyed chair away. Bella, thinking that he was trying to climb on top of her, yelped in amusement and batted him away.

"Not here!"

Edward realized what she had assumed and collapsed again in laughter, his body pressed tightly against hers. Before he could get carried away, though, he rolled quickly to her other side, leaving the broken chair behind.

"I don't want just that, you know." He studied her profile in the lights from the party.

"Hmmm?" she murmured, watching his mouth once more.

"Sex," he clarified, sending a jolt of electricity through both of them. "I don't just want that with you. I want...well, I want everything. Is that okay?"

With his heart racing and his palms sweating, he waited for the girl of his dreams to answer the age-old question. At twenty-two, he had finally asked someone to be his girlfriend, and Bella Swan was worth the wait.

"Way to go with the upsell there," she teased, rolling over so that she was lying on top of him. "Of course that's okay. Better than okay. In fact, let's get out of here and maybe get started on...everything."

Edward chuckled as he stood and helped her to her feet. Together, they crossed the lawn and entered the houseful of people again, but only long enough to find the hostess and say goodbye.

Rosalie stood with Emmett, Alice, and Jasper, and the conversation halted when Edward and Bella arrived. The new couple didn't even say a word before Alice leapt into action and flung her arms around Bella.

"Nice job," Jasper said, offering Edward a fist bump.

"Thanks for the help, guys," Bella laughed, pulling on Edward's hand.

"It was the stuff I told him to say, wasn't it?" Emmett asked, puffing his chest out with pride.

"Get real. He got his smoothest lines from me," Jasper scoffed.

Edward's cheeks colored slowly, and he silently pled for help with his eyes. Taking pity on him in his discomfort, Bella wrapped her arms around him and smiled.

"I'm sure you both helped him get started, but in the end, he knew exactly what he needed to say."


	11. Commis

**Here's a little outtake from EPOV I did for FGB one year. I never posted, so no one's seen it yet. Hope you enjoy!**

**oOo**

**Commis**

_-An apprentice to the Chef de Partie-_

The moment her eyes met mine, I felt a tightening in my pants that had me glancing around for a hiding place. Her face was blank—slack almost—but intelligence sparked in her brown eyes. I wondered where her mind was until I saw her gaze travel over the length of my body, igniting a flame that burned just beneath the surface of my skin. Before I could get any harder or turn any redder, I barked another order at Emmett and dashed from the kitchen.

Out of sight did not mean out of mind, and I thought about the new girl through every conversation I had with the customers—sorry, guests—at my tables. Her cheeks had turned the most appealing shade of pink, and her shiny brown hair looked like it would slide right through my fingers with ease if I grabbed it to—

With a snort, I pulled myself away from that train of thought. I didn't even have any experience in that arena. If I had managed to get a handful of the new girl's hair, I wouldn't have known what to do with it. Neither would I have had any idea what to do with the curves that our hideous uniforms hid from me. With her top two buttons undone, I'd seen a length of creamy skin on her slender neck, but I wouldn't have known where to place my mouth to make her whimper or moan. Sadly but effectively put, I was clueless.

I didn't look for her—well, not _really_. My eyes definitely scanned the kitchen as I walked back through, and they caught sight of her moving through the dish room with a cautious step. As she inspected the first aid kit, I bit back a grin and wondered if she thought she might have need of it in the future. When she moved back toward the break room with her same careful stride, I figured she was just extremely conscientious. I didn't exactly _follow _her, either. I had to pass the employee lounge on my way to the salad station, so I just turned my head a little as I passed to catch a glimpse of her. I wanted to drum up the courage to step in and at least say hi, but the words died in my throat when I saw her perched on her toes in one of the chairs as she stretched for the VCR. I hadn't realized how tiny she was.

Without thinking, I stepped behind her and took the video. When she leaned back against me to steady herself, I damn near moaned. In just that split second, I was pretty sure I fell in love with her. Saying hello wouldn't be enough, and saying what I thought would only scare her away forever. So, I didn't say anything. Instead, I walked away like a world-class asshole. If I ever did get the courage to say something to her, she would probably just punch me in the junk and run.

"What's your problem?" Rosalie stared down her slender nose at me.

I was at least six inches taller, so it was no small feat that she could make me feel shorter than Alice.

I scowled as I passed her and wondered what Emmett could see in her. Moreover, what could he possibly have said to melt her perpetually frozen heart and…well, other organs? With a start, I halted in the middle of the lobby, which caused Rosalie to run square into the back of me.

"Jesus, idiot. Move!" she hissed, shoving me out of her way.

_Yeah_. Emmett had to be some kind of wordsmith to get that bitch to soften up at all. Of course, to get his help, I'd have to explain that I'd fallen madly in love with the new girl without ever saying a word to her. He always called me a pussy and other colorful, gender-questioning nicknames, so I didn't have a lot to lose.

Waiting for my shift to end was even more painful than usual. I was kind of excited to see what knowledge Emmett might impart but dreading giving up my information to get his. Regardless, I ran for the car to meet up at O'Malley's, wondering if anyone had thought at all to invite the new girl out after her first day. If Rosalie was the only other person she had met, I sincerely doubted it.

I hadn't counted on Rosalie joining us at the bar, either, but I should have. She never seemed excited to join us but was always there anyway. I perked up a bit when I saw Jasper and Alice cuddling in one of the booths and made my way over to join them. I knew Emmett would sit with us after he found some fruity drink for Rosalie at the bar, so I held my tongue until he could take care of his girl. Unfortunately, she wandered over with him and sat across the table from me.

When it looked like she and Alice were deep in conversation, I took a deep breath and leaned over to get Emmett's attention. He was idly flipping strands of Rosalie's hair between his fingers, so it took a few seconds of throat clearing for me to get his attention. By the time he looked, Jasper also watched me with interest.

"Something on your mind?" he asked lazily, rolling up the cuffs of his sleeves.

A quick glance at the girls told me that they were still otherwise occupied, so I nodded quickly and gestured with my head for a huddle.

"What's with the covert operations, Double-Oh Dickhead?" Emmett snickered.

I started to point out the obvious homoerotic nature of his insult, but decided to just let him have that one.

"What could I say to get a girl to notice me?" I asked in a low voice.

Emmett's jaw dropped after a moment of silence, and then he let out a huge guffaw that startled every person within twenty feet of us. Rosalie and Alice stopped their chattering and eyed us with interest, especially noting my flushed cheeks.

"The new girl?" Emmett wheezed, chuckling heartily.

"Bella Swan?" Rosalie interjected, her eyebrows raised delicately. "She's damn near a half-wit. What about her?"

_Bella Swan._ The name fit her perfectly, with her slender, graceful neck and her creamy, white skin—what I had seen of it anyway.

Complete silence descended as I refused to answer the question. Finally, Alice took pity on me and asked Rosalie to go get another drink from the bar with her. She winked as she pushed Rosalie away from the table, and I hoped it meant she would buy me a little time. When I was sure they were completely out of earshot, I turned back to the guys, panic building slowly and causing my ears to buzz.

Emmett was still chuckling, but Jasper had adopted a thoughtful look. I wondered if I'd considered asking the wrong guy for help. As I had them both there, I didn't see how getting two opinions would hurt anything.

"What do you mean 'get a girl to notice you?' Have you never talked to a girl before? You seemed to know exactly what to say to Tanya when she was here."

I frowned at the mention of Tanya. As a family friend, she'd always been more like a sister to me than even a friend who happened to be a girl. The thought of trying to get her attention for any romantic or sexual reason was just gross. Of course, she was a beautiful girl, and her acceptance of me had paved the way to the friends I had at work. It also seemed to convince almost everyone around me that I must have been some kind of ladies' man to get someone like Tanya to hang around for any amount of time.

"Fine. Long story short. I like her. I can't talk when I'm around her. I need to know what to say to get her to…I don't know. Maybe like me back?"

Changing the subject back to Bella seemed the only way to keep the conversation on track. If I didn't hurry, Alice and Rosalie would return and add to my torture. As I saw it, I had about five minutes to absorb all the wisdom that Emmett and Jasper could impart, and I really didn't think that would be enough time.

"Well, that's easy enough." Emmett rolled his eyes. "Next time you see her, walk up and just slightly invade her space. Not in a creepy way, but enough to let her know you're there for her and her only. Then…I don't know, man. Compliment her hair or something. But you gotta say it in a way that lets her know you're thinking about her in bed with you. Like, 'I wanna pull that hair while I'm pounding—'"

"You're an asshole," Jasper interrupted calmly. He directed his gaze at me and sighed.

"I'm guessing you want more than just a night with the lovely new girl?"

"Well, yeah. I think. I don't really know her yet, but I really want to."

Emmett snorted and used another of his famous nicknames for me while Jasper slugged another gulp of beer.

"Then you should just start with hello," he said simply. "Ask her what she likes, what she doesn't like. If she asks you, tell her what you like and don't like. See if you have some things in common, and then you'll know for sure if you want more than one night."

"But don't kill the mystery," Emmett interjected. "You can't tell it all in one conversation, or you'll be the most boring bastard on the planet. If you refuse to answer stuff, she'll want another conversation to find out what she's missing."

I looked back at Jasper to see if he agreed with this assessment, and he nodded slowly with wide eyes. Apparently, he was surprised by Emmett's grasp of women. Before we could develop too much confidence, however, Emmett spoke again.

"And be sure to put some kind of sexual innuendo into everything. Seriously, man. You look at me like I'm stupid, but I'm not. You say something that makes her think about sex with you and you're in. I mean, if the thought doesn't disgust her, that is. If she likes it, it's all she'll be able to think about."

"Again, I have to concede that he has a point. If she doesn't think you're a prick, then she'll be thinking about sleeping with you." Jasper shook his head in amusement. "Right or not, you should make that secondary to getting to know her. Tease her a bit if you get a chance, but mostly just show interest in her. Find out if she's going to school, what her favorite flowers are, if she likes music."

"Then make her think you'll take her back into the wine cage and let her stick her hand down your pants," Emmett suggested.

"Fuck off about the wine cage," I growled.

"And after you've talked to her and decided you still like her, see if she wants to hang out somewhere besides work. Even here. I won't let Emmett bother her."

"And then you should imply she'll get some sweet, sweet love before the night's over," Emmett added.

"Just be nice."

"Compliment her ass."

"Get her a little thoughtful gift."

"Ask if you can do the motorboat."

"And if you still can't think of anything to say, just smile."

"Tell her you're packing a foot-long."

By that point, I was looking back and forth between them like watching a ping-pong match. Jasper was grinning, but Emmett looked dead serious. I wished I'd brought along a notepad or something to take some notes—

"I will not!" I shouted, as Emmett's last words finally registered.

He and Jasper cracked up and howled so loud that everyone around us stared again. My cheeks grew hot as I considered actually saying some of the things Emmett had suggested to Bella Swan. There wasn't a chance in hell that I would be able to work up the courage for at least half of it. Jasper's suggestions, though, seemed like something I could work with.

"Whatever," I mumbled as I drained the last of my beer.

"Dude. You're twenty-two. You'll figure it out. Just get past the hi, at the very least."

Those were Emmett's final words on the matter, just before Rosalie and Alice reappeared at the table.

My head swam. Talk to her, compliment her, give her gifts, ask her out, grab her ass— No! All of the above _except_ the ass-grab. Unless she invited me. Then, definitely _yes_ to the ass-grab. I didn't want to mess it all up, but I actually liked her so much that it was damn near guaranteed that I would. Even when she wasn't around, I still couldn't think straight.

I resolved I would at least try the first chance that I got. After my one beer, I drove home and crawled into bed. Instead of going to sleep, I tried to imagine whether I would use Emmett's advice or Jasper's first. Most of all, I wondered if I would even have the courage to approach her at all.


End file.
